A fool's collection
by DeathsFool
Summary: A collection of random ideas that would not leave me alone and had to be penned down. None of these are meant to be taken too seriously.
1. What do you mean father?

** What do you mean father?!**

Jaune was NOT having a good. He had forgotten his homework and gotten detention for it; he had failed the history test, and he now found himself in the Emerald Forest for a practical test of skill. Worst of all was that the cafeteria had run out of pancakes before he got there. How was he expected to hunt down Grimm on an empty stomach?

He looked around. His team mates were nowhere in sight. In hindsight, he really should have expected the launching pad to be used again for this test, but hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.

He was so busy thinking on how bad he had it that he didn't notice walking into a Death Stalker. He only realized it was there when he crashed into its side and looked up.

'_Hmm…This looks vaguely familiar.' _

He looked up when a shadow fell upon he noticed that the stalker was raising its tail.

'_Definitely familiar.'_

He screamed and threw himself to a side to avoid being turned into a pancake. He drew Crocea Mors and his shield, even though he knew that the chances of him beating a Death Stalker alone were…

Well, suffice it to say that there was a higher chance of Weiss suddenly deciding to confess her undying love for him.

So, considering his options, he decided to do what every good, smart hero would do in a hopeless situation: he turned and ran.

Never let it be said that Jaune Arc was completely brain dead!

The deathstalker gave chase and Jaune found himself running faster than he ever had. He was actually moving faster than the stalker! Maybe he could make it! Maybe he could get away from it!

Then Jaune tripped and fell face first.

He groaned but the scuttling behind him reminded him that Murphy was an ass and he was laughing at him right now and that he should probably get up and keep running.

He cursed gravity for being a heartless bitch and immediately pushed himself off the floor. The tail was coming down again. His training with Pyrrha paid off; he knew that trying to completely block it was insane. With it weight and momentum, he would probably break his arm if he tried.

He raised his shield and deflected the oncoming assault and twisted to a side and twisted out of the way before slashing at it with Crocea Mors.

With his heightened combat awareness, he noticed that the Stalker's pincers. He jumped back and barely managed to avoid them.

His training with Pyrrha was obviously paying off. Still, he knew that he couldn't win. Not by himself. Not without a plan.

He wondered if his team mates had heard his admittedly less than heroic scream and would come to his aid. He didn't want them too. He didn't want to be responsible for endangering his friends' lives.

With no plan, no teams and no super-secret technique, he had only one choice.

He slashed away at the Stalker, causing it to briefly and very slightly retreat. Then he turned and ran, hoping to lose the thing in the forest.

Hey, why fix it if it ain't broke, right?

The stalker gave chase again. Jaune noticed with dismay that it was closing in on him this time. He hadn't managed to buy enough time, it would seem.

Jaune narrowly avoided its tail and turned around, facing the monstrosity that really wanted to kill him.

The pincer came again and he blocked it before slashing at it. The he ducked to avoid the other pincer and jumped back to avoid the tail. He slashed away at its tail before it could draw it back. Jaune internally smiled.

The training with Pyrrha was definitely paying off.

The stalker's pincer lunged and Jaune managed to deflect it again and twist to away to a side. In that moment he saw an opening.

He put all the Aura he could muster into his sword hand and lunged.

The stalker shrieked but its tough, chitinous carapace made sure it lived and that it was angry. Really, really angry.

One of its pincer came at him. Off balanced and unprepared, Jaune was knocked away. He slammed into a tree and fell into the ground.

"Uhh…" he groaned.

What had he been thinking, trying to pierce its skull? He of all people should have known how hard it was to get through a thick head!

He tried to get up before he noticed the Stalker coming scuttling towards him. He froze. His sword had been knocked out of his grasp.

This was it then. He was going to die here, alone, unloved and unknown. He raised his shield. He was going to make the bastard pay for it.

"Get away from my father!" he heard a voice. His eyes widened when a girl with startling red hair landed in front of him and slashed away at the Stalker with an incredibly familiar sword.

'_Pyrrha?'_ he wondered hopefully.

He got up and saw his partner somehow holding her own against a B class Grimm.

He ran towards his swords and picked it up, determined to help. Then he stopped.

The girl. She looked like Pyrrha but she wasn't Pyrrha. Her eyes were blue and her face vaguely reminded him of him mother. Her hairstyle was also different. While Pyrrha wore her hair in a ponytail, this girl wore no headband and her hair was fell freely. She looked rather nice, actually.

'_Wait a minute, father?' _he internally wondered as he remembered her exact words as she saved his sorry ass.

She wasn't referring to him, right? Right? It was impossible after all! She looked the same age as him and he would remember it if he had…If he had…he blushed.

Shaking those thoughts away, he decided to get off his ass and help his savior. He lunged at the Grimm and hit one its pincers, stopping it from getting the jump on the girl and knocking her away.

The girl looked at him with gratitude and…affection? Nah, couldn't be. Sure, he liked to pretend he was a suave ladies' man but the truth was that he had better chances of scoring with the statue in Beacon academy than he did with an actual girl.

He soon discarded those thoughts as the combat began anew.

The two worked well together, he noticed. In fact, the way this stranger fought reminded him of Pyrrha's fighting style. Not-Pyrrha would attack in rapid motions and Jaune would block any attacks coming towards them and countering with Crocea Mors.

Still, he knew that they would not able to slay the stalker the way things were going. They simply lacked the firepower. He looked at the stranger.

"Hey!" he called out before ducking to avoid the stalker's pincer.

"What?" she answered as she slashed away the Stalker's exposed flank.

"We won't be able to win like this!" he yelled back.

He deflected the tail and Not-Pyrrha jumped in front of him, blocking its pincer.

"What do we do?" the girl asked as she deftly dodged the Stalker's attacks and sliced away at it.

Jaune took advantage of the monster's distraction and slammed his shield into the Stalker's head, causing it to focus on him.

Not-Pyrrha then jumped into the air, and spun around mid-air, slashing away at the Stalker.

'_Super Combo!'_ his mind declared as she landed.

"Running sounds like a good i-" he couldn't finish due to being rudely interrupted by the stalker's pincer.

He flew away again and slammed against the same, damned tree.

He cursed the stupid tree for growing there.

"Father!" the girl called out in a concerned tone of voice.

Okay, why was she calling him that?

She slashed at stalker before disengaging. She ran towards him.

"C'mon, get up, you can't leave me here!" she yelled at him, looking frantic.

Okay, now she was exaggerating. There was no way that would have killed him. Although the angry stalker now coming at them certainly could.

She grabbed his arm and pulled. He got back up on his feet.

"Time to go." He said out loud.

The two ran away from the Stalker, but Jaune knew that in spite of the few, precious seconds they had gotten, they would not be able to outrun the angry, angry Stalker.

The girl seemed to come to the same conclusion. She leapt forwards and rolled forward. She was facing the stalker when she got up. Her sword had also turned into a rifle.

Jaune was hit with a sense of déjà vu. He also felt surprised. So surprised in fact, the he stopped running.

That…That was definitely Pyrrha's weapon. They had the same colors, the same lengths, and the same functions. He was willing to bet his pancakes that it could turn into a spear too.

Who was this girl? Seeing her fire like that, it reminded him of his first trip to this accursed forest.

"What are you doing? Keep running! I'll hold it off!" the girl yelled at him.

No. No way. He was training to be a hero, damn it! He wasn't going to let anyone die for him! No, if she was willing to risk her life for him, he was certainly going to repay the favor.

He ignored her and charged forward and raised his blade.

"Wha-Father, no!" he heard the girl exclaim in surprise as he did.

There it was again! Why was she calling him that?

Jaune was about to commit the greatest mistake of his life when he heard another, new voice.

"You're going to get yourself killed, father!" a cheerful voice called out.

Yang suddenly dropped in, delivered a devastating punch at the stalker which briefly sent it staggering away and used that brief lull in combat to grab him by the collar and drag him away, towards the redhead before he could even try to hit the stalker.

He was about to thank her when he noticed something very unusual.

She wasn't Yang.

Yang had lavender eyes, sometimes red eyes, not blue ones. This Yang's hair was also shorter. He also noticed, and he cursed his hormones for this, that her bust was slightly smaller.

Not that he was checking her out, of course.

Please, he was a gentleman. And he was definitely not checking her out. Nope.

Not-Yang and Not-Pyrrha glared at each other.

"You." The redhead said angrily.

"Me." The blonde replied frostily.

Jaune sensed some hostility here.

"There you are, father!" Jaune looked towards the source of the voice and saw Weiss running towards them.

Except that wasn't really Weiss.

He was beginning to notice a trend here.

Jaune was…confused. Confused because they were all calling him father. Confused because they had exact replicas of all of his friends' weapons. Confused because in spite of all their similarities, they definitely weren't his friends.

Weiss would never call him father.

Not-Weiss's eyes were a different shade of blue. Whereas Weiss's eyes reminded him of the sky, Not-Weiss's eyes reminded him, strangely enough, of himself. She glared at the other two girls.

"While I am not against the prospect of you two fighting to the death here, I do not wish to see my father die here." she told them frigidly, making her similarity to Weiss even more pronounced.

The others glared at each other then back at Not-Weiss before nodding. "Let's get out of here. I can beat all of you later." The blonde declared.

"Just try it." The redhead replied with an angry frown.

"Hmph." Not-Weiss didn't even reply.

Jaune felt his confusion growing. These girls looked a lot like his friends (and acquaintances?) and even carried their weapons. Just who were these people?

Wait, they had all called him father. They all looked like his closest friends. They even carried exact same weapons.

Was it possible…

…that they were fangirls?

Ah, well, he'd ask later, when they were not being chased by a ginormous, angry scorpion.

"Let's get outta here!" he yelled, interrupting what was quickly developing into a Mexican standoff.

The three immediately stopped glaring at each other and nodded, before running after him.

The stalker, however, really wanted to kill them, so it refused to be a bro and gave chase. In hindsight, they probably would've saved a lot of time if he had managed to convince them all to run instead of having their little spat in the middle of a fight.

Then Deathstalker suddenly…flinched? Could stalkers even flinch? And briefly faltered.

The noticed a figure ahead of the shooting at with a familiar looking scythe sniper.

'_Crescent Rose. Ruby!'_

"Ruby!" he was relieved. Sure, he would have preferred not to have gotten anyone involved, but that particular ship had already sailed.

"Not…exactly." Not-Weiss told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. But his question was answered the moment he saw "Ruby".

That…wasn't Ruby. She had blue eyes too and her facial structure was (surprise!) different. But that was definitely Crescent Rose and Ruby would never let anyone else use her beloved weapon.

His earlier confusion came back. With a vengeance.

"Father!" Not-Ruby called out happily.

He was now incredibly confused.

"He's not your father!" Not-Weiss exclaimed.

"Is too!" Not-Ruby yelled back, stomping her foot on the ground.

Scratch that. He was super-duper incredibly confused to infinity.

"Is not!"

These two definitely argued like his friend and acquaintance/friend.

His brain was not processing. If someone else, like, say, Not-Blake showed up, he feared his sanity would break.

"We really have no time for this." A quiet voice interrupted them.

Jaune turned to face the new voice with trepidation.

Not-Blake was standing behind him. He saw Gambol Shroud on her hand.

His mind crashed and ran into the feared blue screen of death.

Somewhere out there, Murphy was laughing his ass off right now.

Like all the strangers here, Not-Blake had blue eyes. But that was definitely Gambol Shroud. And that same cute ribbon that Blake wore to conceal her cat ears.

"You're right. I'll deal with you father-thieves after we get out of here." Not-Weiss declared imperiously.

"You're the father-thief, thief!" Not Ruby protested.

"You're all wrong, you're all father-thieves." Not Pyrrha chimed in.

The stalker's approach reminded them that they were still in a, you know, slightly, VERY dangerous situation.

They all glanced at the angry, overgrown scorpion.

"What's the plan?" Not Yang asked as she cracked her fists.

They all turned to look at him, as if hoping he had a plan.

He would have snorted if his brain weren't still in the process of rebooting.

"YEE HAW!" A new voice made itself known.

Jaune's brain crashed again when an orange haired boy fell from the air and slammed the Stalker down with a Warhammer.

That…looked like Nora but wasn't Nora. Last time he had checked Nora was a girl.

The stalker stumbled but managed to throw him off.

A black haired girl with teal eyes ran towards him. "Don't do that, again!" she yelled at him.

The orange haired boy with pink eyes smiled. "But it's fuuuun!"

The black haired girl sighed.

Not…Ren? Not…Nora? Fem!Ren? Male!Nora?

Jaune's eye started to twitch.

"Father, are you okay?" a new voice. A NEW voice. His fragile sanity wouldn't be able to handle it if…

'_Gah!' _

He froze and looked at the newcomer.

Not-Velvet was looking at him with concern. And that really wasn't Velvet. The Velvet he knew had brown eyes. She also did not carry a sword with her. That sword looked really familiar though.

"Wha…I mean…Who…What…" Jaune's brain was finally beginning to boot properly. "Who are you people?!" Jaune suddenly exclaimed.

All those present gave him concerned looks. Except for the stalker. The stalker was kind of an ass like that.

The assembled group all shared looks before Not-Blake stepped forward.

"We'll explain later. We need to deal with the Stalker right now." She told him.

Jaune nodded, finally starting to regain some of his higher cognitive functions.

"Fine. But I want an explanation after all of this." He declared as he readied his sword.

Everyone nodded.

"Umm…Father?" Not Ruby asked him.

Jaune looked around. Nope, definitely meant him.

"What is it?" Jaune asked. He still didn't know why they called him father, but he could wait to ask later.

"You're going to tell us what to do, right?"

Jaune just sighed. Sure, he'd taken one down before, but that been with a team. Although then again, he had been the once to come up with a plan. Maybe they could employ the same strategy?

* * *

In the end, the Stalker had gone down surprisingly easy. These strangers were incredibly skilled and with all 9 of them working together, they had managed to take down the stalker.

They had mostly been listening to him ordering them around though, because they did not seem to like each other and didn't know how to work with each other.

The battle would've been a lot shorter if he hadn't had had to yell at them to do something or to stop doing something every 10 seconds.

It had been confusing at first. The fact that he did not know even know their names did not help.

"Red! No, not you! You're maroon!" As Not-Pyrrha and Not-Ruby both turned to look at him.

"White! Yes, I mean you!" Not-Weiss shot him an incredibly betrayed look. He didn't understand why.

"Ren! No, not the 2 of you!" Fem!Ren and Male!Nora both turned to look at him. Jaune was developing a migraine.

It had been pretty hectic. Still, they had succeeded, employing an incredibly similar strategy to the one he'd used before. But with more firepower and distractions this time.

"Okay, I was promised answers. Who are you people?" Jaune asked them after his breathing returned to normal. It had been quite the ordeal, even with these familiar strangers helping.

They all looked at each other nervously.

"I…I know this is hard to believe, but we're…" Not Blake began hesitantly.

"We're from the future!" Male!Nora exclaimed cheerfully.

Jaune stared at them incredulously. Then he began to laugh.

They all shared looks again, although he couldn't identify the emotion this time.

"Right. Now seriously, who are you people?" he asked them after he managed to stop laughing. "Did Yang put you up to this?"

Not-Yang smiled slightly at that.

He normally would've been far nicer to the people he'd fought together with, but he had just gone through a truly hectic moment, he had a migraine and he really wanted answers.

"But that's the truth!" Not-Ruby protested indignantly.

Jaune snorted. "Riiiiight."

"Look, do you think anyone else would wield these weapons?" Not-Weiss asked him.

Jaune looked at her blade. Well, it certainly looked like Myrtenaster. He was still unconvinced though.

She then swung the blade and froze a poor, innocent tree.

That was definitely Myrtenaster.

They all showed him their weapons.

Crescent Rose.

Gambol Shroud.

Ember Celica.

Miló and Akoúo̱.

Magnhild.

StormFlower.

It was the last weapon that convinced him that these familiar strangers might be telling the truth:

Crocea Mors. Why was Not-Velvet using Crocea Mors?

Jaune stared, incredulously. Those were definitely his friends' weapons. And that...That was definitely Crocea Mors. He reached for his to make sure it had not been stolen during the fight.

It hadn't.

"Okay, let's say I believe you, what exact-" he began. Then he remembered that many of them had called him father. And they all resembled his friends.

'_Okay, either you're their babysitter and they're all single moms or you…'_

"Why were you all calling me father?!" he demanded, fearing the answer.

Then they all started to glare at each other again. Except for Fem!Ren and Male!Nora who just looked amused.

"What do you know of Multiverse theory?" Fem!Ren asked him.

Jaune had vaguely heard about it in some sci-fi.

"Not much?" he replied.

"Multiverse Theory states that there are multiple universes, each appearing when a person makes a different choice." Fem!Ren supplied most unhelpfully.

"Yeah, and?" Jaune asked, hoping the girl would get to the point.

"Well, we all traveled back, but we all come from different universes." Fem!Ren explained.

Now Jaune wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Still, since his stint as leader of Team JNPR began, he had begun to develop the ability to think quickly and analyze situations with far more alacrity than before. Putting all his brain power together, he came up with the one question that would get directly into the heart of the matter and net him all the answers he sought.

"What."

Time travel, he could maybe believe. But they were Sliders too?

"You didn't get married in my universe." Fem!Ren told him. Then she pointed at the arguing members of their little group. "I'm guessing you married different women in their respective universes."

WHAT.

"He's my father! Your moms didn't even get married in my time!" Not-Ruby was yelling.

"I could say the same!" Not-Pyrrha yelled back.

"All of you need to accept that he's my father and not yours!" Not-Weiss was demanding imperiously.

Not-Yang was glaring at all them while punching her fists together.

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. When he had wished for girls to fight for him that one time after reading that one manga, he hadn't meant this.

And oh, gods, if they really were his daughters...He suddenly felt sick. He had been checking out Not-Yang a few moments ago. His stomach lurched, not to differently to the way it did when he was on a plane.

"Enough!" he yelled.

Everyone suddenly became quiet.

"Good," he nodded. "Now explain to me who you are and where you come from and we can discuss this civilly."

Gods, he, the class idiot was acting as the mediator. Gods help them all.

They were all staring at each other. Then Not-Blake looked directly at him.

"From what I understand, we all come from a timeline where everything goes wrong." She told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious.

"There was a war," Not-Weiss spoke up. "It…It didn't go too well for our side."

"Our side?" he asked her.

"The side fighting against the Grimm." Not-Pyrrha answered before Not-Weiss could. Not-Weiss glared at the redhead.

"What happened?" he had to admit he was really, really curious now.

"You died," Not-Yang snapped. "Everyone did."

Jaune's eyes widened. "What?"

"It's true. Almost everyone died. There weren't many survivors." Not-Ruby said quietly.

"The surviving humans knew that we would be overrun. There were simply too many of them," Not-Pyrrha told him. "We only had one hope left: a time travelling ritual left behind by those that defeated the Grimm the first time, when Dust was first discovered."

Okay, this sounded like the plot to a badly written movie. Seriously.

"We all used the Ritual." Not-Velvet added.

"I wasn't expecting to run into a bunch of thieves from different universes." Not-Yang interjected brusquely.

Everyone save for Fem!Ren and Male!Nora exploded at that.

"You're the father-thief!"

"You're all thieves!"

His migraine was getting worse. The Fem!Ren gave him an amused look.

"ENOUGH!" He yelled again.

They all fell silent.

"We can all deal with that later." He began sternly. They all nodded mutely. "But for now, we're going back to Beacon, understood?"

They all nodded again.

He sighed. He was too young to be a father.

* * *

"Oh, hey, Jaune!" Ruby, not Not-Ruby, but Ruby called as he approached the Academy's gates.

He waved. "Hey!" he answered with a smile.

Not-Ruby smiled and all the other…time travelers save for the Ren twins glared at her.

"So how'd you do?" he asked her as soon as he reached the main group.

She gave him the thumbs up. "Ran into a couple beowulves but it was okay!" she answered cheerfully.

"Sweet!" he told her, genuinely happy for his friend.

"How about you?" Pyrrha asked her leader.

Jaune frowned. "Not as well…"

"What happened? Run into a big, bad, ursa?" Yang interjected.

Jaune snorted. "Gods, I wish."

"Oh, did you run into a Chupacabra?" Nora suddenly asked him excitedly.

Jaune felt his confusion coming back. "What?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "Nora, Chupacabras aren't real."

Nora stomped her foot. "They are!"

"Your…_charming_ banter aside, who are those people?" Weiss asked as she pointed at the time travelers. Weiss actually seemed unnerved by them. Which wasn't surprising, considering how they looked and what weapons they carried.

Jaune frowned. He hadn't actually thought of that. How was he supposed to explain this? Should he be blunt? Subtle?

"MOTHER!" Male!Nora exclaimed as she leapt towards Nora.

"Eh?" Nora asked. The she saw an orange blur coming her way. "EH?!"

That was as far as she got up before she was tackled by…her son.

"Nora!" Ren ran towards them, concern etched on his face.

"Did she call Nora moth-" Blake began only to be interrupted by several cries of "mother!" and "mom!" and one "father!".

Well, this wasn't how he was planning to explain, but maybe this would work.

He then remembered who their father was and knew that his life was gonna get a hell of a lot more complicated.

* * *

AN: First in the collection of random ideas that suddenly popped into my head and would not leave me alone. Obviously not meant to be taken seriously. Other than that, not much to say, really.

This probably popped into my head after I started a grind marathon in Fire Emblem Awakening while watching RWBY right after reading a little bit of Negima's harem antics.


	2. Wizarding shenanigans

**Wizarding shenanigans**

**Introductions**

Jaune looked up as the plane approached what looked like the kinds of castle that six year old girls would dream of.

'_So this is Beacon…_' he thought to himself wearily. In spite of the Academy's prestige, he had no interest in being a student there. But alas, family obligations had quickly gotten in the way of his desires.

Oh, he had nothing against the place itself. There was a 100% employment rate for graduates and some the best known teachers worked there. The campus itself also looked rather nice, in spite of his earlier grumbling.

It even had a surprisingly low death toll, for a combat school!

It was just that he had no interest in becoming pest control. No, he would have much preferred to stick to his research. His life had been pretty sweet too. Wake up, maybe brew some potions, try out some new spells, read or watch some tv, rinse and repeat. But he could see the wisdom behind his father's decision to send him here.

Didn't change the fact that he wasn't too happy about it.

His stomach grumbled and reminded him that it did not like planes.

Okay, so much of the antipathy he felt right now stemmed from the fact that his stomach was killing him. Still, he was a wizard, one of the wise, one who could tap into the very powers of creation and harness them to do his-

"Urk!" he breathed out as the plane took a particularly sharp turn and prompted his stomach to do the same. Stupid magic, failing him when he needed it most.

He got up and ran towards the bathroom, accidentally puking over some girl's boots as he ran. He peripherally noticed various looks of disgust and heard an outraged cry from the poor girl his stomach had decided to savage.

Oh, yeah, he was so awesome.

He was the first person to get off the plane as soon as it touched down.

"Oh, sweet earth, how I missed thee! Promise me you'll never let go!" he fervently whispered as he contemplated doing something as clichéd as kneeling and kissing the ground.

On one hand, it was pretty clichéd. On the other, after his rather harrowing ordeal, he felt he was justified in displaying his love for terra firma.

His stomach lurched again, the final spasms of a dying beast.

He decided to walk around and let his stomach readjust to not being in a flying coffin.

Beacon was, admittedly, a pretty nice place. It had luscious green trees growing around the courtyard, trimmed yards, and hey, was that a gunblade?

He rubbed his eyes.

Definitely a gunblade.

He looked around and felt bewildered at the sight. He saw all kinds of students waving around different kinds of weapons. Weapons that would have fit better in some anime or videogame. From gunblades to pistolwhips to trench knives with wires.

Then he looked down at his weapon.

Crocea Mors. His father's final gift to him before kicking him out. Oh and a few Dust crystal with assorted fun effects.

'_I kind of want to make fun of their confidence but can't help but feel a little emasculated…'_

He also saw a guy with a burning sword. At least that made sense, although he did wonder what kind of enchantments had been used on it. Or if enchantments had been used at all. He knew first- hand what could be accomplished using Dust and careful applications of Aura, and it greatly resembled the magic he could wield in many cases.

He decided to walk towards the assembly, where hopefully things wouldn't threaten his confidence as much. He was walking towards what he assumed was the right place when he noticed a smoking hot blonde talking to…Little Red Riding Hood?

He shook his head and decided to keep walking. Sure, she was hot, but after his…less than stellar debut back in the plane he doubted any girl would even deign to give him the time of the day.

He took one more step when Riding hood pulled out a scythe that was larger than she was tall.

He gaped. _'Where did she even fit that thing?!' _he wondered. _'Note to self, do not mess with Red. She probably skinned the wolf and is using its blood stained fur as her hood.'_

Smoking Hot Blonde or SHB said something he couldn't hear and then ran off at such speeds that Red was sent spinning towards a trolley with luggage.

He winced. _'This is gonna suck.'_

He watched with the morbid curiosity that those who witness a train wreck happening. He felt some amusement as a white haired girl (ooh…pretty!), presumably the owner of the luggage Red had just thrown everywhere, yelled at her.

'_Should she really be waving that dust around like that?'_

Then Red sneezed at the world exploded.

Jaune flinched as everything went white and then shook his head to get rid of the blurriness.

He had to admit, he was kind of impressed. _'I have seen many different ways to blow things up, but this has got to be a first.'_

Then someone else, someone wearing the biggest ribbons he had ever seen approached them, said something that ticked off Snow White, who stormed off, leaving Riding Hood and the ribbon wearing girl behind.

Then the ribbon wearing girl left, leaving Riding Hood behind.

Jaune snickered at Red's expression once she realized she had been abandoned by her would be savior. Still, he could relate to the girl. He didn't really want to be here either. Also, he wasn't a complete jackass, so he decided to help her out.

"Looks like you need a hand." He told her as he offered her his hand.

"Thanks." She nodded gratefully before taking the offered hand.

"No probs." He answered easily with a lazy grin. "Anyone else who wasn't a complete jerk would've done it."

Then he turned around. "Well, see ya around."

"Hey, wait!" she called out. He stopped.

"Yeah?" did she need anything else?

She paused and seemed uncertain for a moment. Almost like she didn't know what to say. Jaune didn't know it then, but Ruby was, indeed, at a loss for words. So she went with the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Aren't you Vomit Boy?" she suddenly blurted out.

And she promptly mentally slapped herself.

Jaune sighed. Well, on the plus side, she was cute and she was talking to him in spite of his…nickname.

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" he asked morosely.

"I'm sorry! It was just the first thing that came into my mind!" Red cried out apologetically.

Well, she seemed sincere, so he gave her a small smile. "And I'm pretty sure that Crater Face is the first thing that will come into my mind when I look at you."

And he promptly mentally slapped himself. _'Crater Face, really? All those hours spent watching tv and that's the best you can come up with? For shame, Arc, for shame!'_

Well, at least Red had been affected by it.

"That was an accident!" she exclaimed indignantly as stomped her foot.

"Right right." Jaune answered with a grin.

She glared at him a little bit more before giving a tentative look.

"Oh, I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose." She introduced herself.

"I'm Jaune Arc, wizard, at your service." He introduced himself with a light bow.

"Wizard?" she muttered to herself.

He nodded. "Yup, wizard. Come to me if you ever have magical problems and I might be able to help you out."

He neglected to inform her that he would most likely charge her for it. It was actually an idea that his father had given him when he had asked for some pocket money for Beacon.

Greedy old man. Although the same could probably be said about him, excluding the "old man" part, of course.

Oh, she was gonna get the cute female friend discount, yes, but he was still charging.

Tomes and ingredients weren't cheap. Neither were books and cable.

Ruby gave him a confused look before shaking her head. "So, I've got this thing." She began.

He mentally winced. _'Oh, I swear to every god, if it turns out she's half male…'_

And then she pulled out her scythe. It looked even more impressive up close.

He mentally sighed in relief._ 'I never should have seen that Hangover movie. Makes me paranoid.'_

"That is one sweetass scythe." He commented.

She smiled lightly at that. "It's also a customizable, high-impact velocity sniper rifle." She added.

'_Oh. My. Balls.'_

"Where did you buy that and where can I get some?" he asked her excitedly. He probably wouldn't use it much, but damn, it must feel awesome to hold that thing.

Her smile widened. "I designed it myself, actually."

Jaune gaped at the tiny girl. "You…that…design?"

She nodded. "Didn't you design yours too? Every student at Signal does."

He shook his head. "I just got this old hand-me-down."

He showed her his new old blade.

She examined curiously. "So what does it do?"

Jaune shrugged. "It cuts, slices and dices."

"Wait, that's it?" she gave him an expectant look.

'_Well, it's supposed to be an excellent mana conductor.'_

"It also came with this." And he transformed the sheathe into a shield.

"Ooh…" Ruby examined the shield. "What's it made out of?"

He shrugged again. "No idea. Like I said, it was an old hand-me-down."

It was also supposed to be excellent at deflecting attack from mana but he had yet to test that.

"Well, I think it's cool." She told him with a smile. "No one appreciates the classics anymore!"

Least of all him. He would have much preferred a gun or something. He was a wizard, not a warrior. Although, then again, there was the one class in that one game…Spell Sword? Night Blade?

"Hey, where are we going?" he suddenly asked her, not recognizing anything around him.

"I…don't know. I was following you." She answered with a slightly worried look on her face.

"But…but I was following you!" Welp, he was lost.

Her slightly worried look was now truly worried. "I…you…but then…We're late!" she cried out.

They both began to run in random directions, hoping to find the right place.

* * *

**Hello, Princess!**

Jaune was whistling jauntily as he kept up his compass spell to guide him towards his locker. He ran into Snow White and a pretty cute redhead on his way.

"Well…I was thinking we could be on a team together." Snow White was telling the redhead.

"Well, that sounds grand!" Redhead smiled at her.

'_Oh, yes it does.' _That dark, hormonal part of mind thought. He never thought he would ever have to roll his eyes at himself but he did.

"Great!" Snow White answered cheerfully. Jaune noticed a rather subtle change. She was smiling but she also seemed more…evil? Conniving?

Either way, there was a dark aura gathering around her. He noticed the cute readhead looks a littile uncomfortable now.

He decided to help her out. Because he was a good guy, not because she was cute! Although she really was…

Besides, he owed the heiress one for her earlier jab.

"You know what else is great?" he suddenly put himself between Snow White and the Redhead. The heiress suddenly stopped smiling and the ominous aura around her disappeared.

"Me!" he answered his own question with a bow. "Jaune Arc, wizard, at your service!"

"Wizard?" the redhead muttered to herself. Then she shook her head. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos, nice to meet you."

Jaune turned to look at her, making sure that his back was to the heiress and she could not see the redhead anymore. "Likewise." He told her with a wide smile.

"Wha-Who are you?" the heiress demanded as she glared at the buffoon before her. Jaune turned around again.

"I just introduced myself, Princess! And besides, aren't I that tall, blonde and scraggly man of your dreams?" he asked with a winning smile and exaggerated cheer.

Jaune wasn't the best with the ladies, but he did know how to piss off people.

"You?!" Snow White's eyes widened with recognition,

"Yup, me! So," Jaune told her with a wink. "I hear you're fond of me?"

"You have GOT to be kidding me." The heiress answered flatly.

Jaune sighed before looking at Pyrrha. "I'm afraid she's quite shy."

Weiss glared at him. "Do you even know who you're talking to?" she demanded.

"Uh…" Jaune looked around then he snapped his fingers. "Oh, I get it! You're proposing to your dearly beloved! Mazel tov!"

"Wha-" Snow White sputtered.

Pyrrha turned a shade of crimson unmatched by her hair. "You got it all wrong!"

"This is Pyrrha Nikos!" Snow White managed to get out.

"So I've heard." Jaune replied sardonically.

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"

'_Certainly not a record I've heard.'_

"Welp, no idea what that is but congratulations!" he told the redhead cheerfully.

"Thank you." She smiled at him.

"SHE'S ON THE FRONT OF EVERY PUMPKIN PETE'S MARSHMALLOW FLAKES BOX!" Weiss yelled at him. Jaune internally grinned.

"No idea what that is." He replied innocently.

"I…What…you…No…Mistral…" Weiss began to sputter.

Oh, this was precious!

Jaune laughed. "Oh, relax, I'm just messing with you!" then he turned to look Pyrrha. "I love the cereal, by the way."

"Well, it isn't very healthy for you but thank you." She replied wide smile.

Jaune grinned. "Well, gotta go. You kids play nice, okay?"

Then he quickly walked out of the room before Weiss could get her bearing back.

"See you later!" he heard Pyrrha call out.

"Where is that idiot?!" Weiss screeched. Jaune hurried his pace and sent a gust of wind behind him to waylay the heiress.

He took a couple more steps before he ran into a laughing SHB.

"That was smooth, Lady Killer!" she told him between laughs.

He smiled and nodded at Ruby who was trying to stifle her giggles. "Glad to amuse."

SHB grinned at him. "My name's Yang Xiao Long." She introduced herself.

Jaune grinned back. "Jaune Arc, wizard, at your service."

"Wait, wizard?" she muttered to herself. Then she shook her head. "Whatever, that was awesome! Did you see her face?" then she laughed again.

Jaune chuckled. "That was the best part!"

"That wasn't very nice!" Ruby tried to scold him. The effect was ruined by the fact that she was desperately trying to hold back her giggling and had a slightly vindictive look in her face.

'_Yeesh. Note to self, do not mess with Ruby. She might be tiny and adorable, but she also seems to have a vindictive streak.'_

"Welp, see you guys later!" he told them as he left the two "sisters".

He still had to find his damned locker.

* * *

**Creation of a team:**

Jaune swore as the Deathstalker closed in on them.

'_Damn it, think, Arc!'_

There wasn't much he could do right now. His mana or Aura, or whatever you wanted to call it, reserves weren't large enough to conjure up something big enough to kill the wretched creature.

'_Goddamn it, should have brought some potions!'_ he mentally cursed himself.

Then Pyrrha stopped, turned around and her sword became a rifle. The she-boy, Ren, or something, rolled forward, pulled out two guns and turned to face the approaching angry scorpion.

'_That was awesome!' _even in a situation like this, he could not help but feel awed by it. Most shifting weapons that he'd run across only had two forms, because mastering two different weapons was already hectic enough.

This meant his partner had serious skills.

Jaune was about to delude himself into thinking that they might get away when he peripherally caught sight of the Nevermore. The Nevermore that was now flying right towards them.

'_Oh, just balls!'_

He threw himself forward and fell face first into terra kind of firma. He got up and saw his partner, the she-boy and…what was her name again? Err…Well, her ribbons kind of looked like ears…Kitty it was then.

He saw Pyrrha, Ren and Kitty desperately trying to slay the stalker.

"Damn it, I have to get there!" he cursed.

"Let's do this!" Nora declared from his side. He turned to face her.

"Can you make the jump?" he asked her. He could conjure up a blast of wind if she couldn't, although that would be mana intensive.

She smiled.

Jaune shivered. That was not a nice smile. Nora suddenly pulled out her weapon, smacked him with it, throwing him back and shifted the grenade launcher into a Warhammer.

Which was, admittedly, pretty damn awesome, but there really was no need to smack him, damn it!

Then she ran forward, jumped and turned mid-air before slamming her hammer down.

"Balls!" Jaune cried out as the momentum sent him flying towards the other side of the bridge.

He fell face first again. _'Go to Beacon, they said! It'll be fun they said! Goddamned jerks!'_

The first thing he noticed when he got up was that there was someone missing.

"Where's Kitty?" he wondered. His question answered itself when Kitty suddenly soared through the air and began to slash away at the Nevermore while it was still flying.

While it was freaking flying.

He had never felt so emasculated in his entire life. He looked at the people around him.

Then he saw the angry, angry, overgrown scorpion.

"Anyone have a plan?" he asked hopefully.

No one answered.

He sighed again. "Of course." He felt his mana flare up inside him, waiting to be used.

Welp, time to play wizard then.

They ran forward. Pyrrha used her shield to block one of its pincers as she slid underneath it. Then she slashed away at the offending appendage.

The other pincer came at her.

Jaune immediately raised his hand and a slab of earth rose up to intercept the attack.

"Wha-" he heard Pyrrha utter, confused at the sudden appearance of the wall.

He let the mana running through the wall dissipate and the wall began to crumble.

"Now!" Jaune yelled, hoping she would understand.

She did. She leapt forward and angled her blade downwards, in a move totally ripped out of Troy.

The stalker was forced back for a brief instant, and Ren took advantage of the lull in combat to run forward, firing his guns as he did so.

Then the stalker's tail came descended upon him but Ren stepped lightly to a side and climbed up the tail, still firing away as he did so.

Well, that was…damn.

He noticed Nora pull out her grenade launcher and immediately ran back. "Pyrrha, get back!" He conjured another wall, giving her time to disengage.

His wall crumbled as Nora pulled the trigger.

They were holding their own for now but he knew this couldn't last. He decided to do something stupid.

"Can you guys buy me five minutes?" he asked them.

Pyrrha nodded.

"Sure thing!" Nora answered as she raised her Warhammer.

That was the problem with his more powerful spells. They required time and concentration. He just hoped they would be able to hold it off.

He smiled softly and reached deep within himself, drawing more mana. He raised his arms, channeling all that mana into the air around him.

"You weren't kidding when you said wizard, huh?" Pyrrha mused as she saw air whirling around him, surrounding him in a miniature tornado.

He smiled at her. He didn't say anything though. He needed to concentrate.

Nora leapt towards it, bashing away at the scorpion while Pyrrha struck with quick, precise slashes and stabs, dodging and blocking when needed.

Ren kept firing down at it, preventing it from using its tail as well as providing what he was sure was a large source of annoyance for the stalker.

He drew more mana. He needed all he could muster.

His eyes began to glow.

The air around him howled and small cuts appeared around his arms. More. He needed more. This was nowhere near enough. It was a pity they were on this side of the bridge. He would have simply collapsed the ground under the stalker if their positions were reversed.

He drew more and felt a sharp pain inside him. Pain that quickly became almost unbearable. He was at hit limit then. But it wasn't enough.

He needed more, damn it! They were depending on him! He needed…more…

'_Beacon is a magical place, you know?'_ he remembered Ozpin telling him this morning, right before he was launched into this accursed place.

He didn't know why that line suddenly popped into his head. Then his eyes widened. Ozpin knew. He was the one responsible for him being here after all, having suggested this makeshift exchange student program to reintroduce the normal populace to the wonders of magic. Then, in that case…

He shifted his senses around him.

'_Boo yah!' _he mentally cheered as he found what he had been looking for.

The howling, razor sharp winds around him were compressed into a single spear. Then he forced the winds to spin. To spin faster, and faster. His hold on it began to weaken. Already he could feel the wind straining to run free.

Ready.

"GET CLEAR!" he roared.

It was a miracle that they heard him through the miniature storm he held in his hands.

Pyrrha dived in, using her shield to block attacks, giving Nora enough time to shift her weapon and jump back.

Then Nora fired at it, causing it to stagger. Pyrrha slashed away at it one more time before disengaging.

Ren hopped daintily on the thing's head while it was distracted and pushed himself off of it and landed next to him.

Jaune released his strenuous hold on the spinning spear.

The spear made a crashing sound and howled as it flew forward.

His eyes couldn't follow the movement, but he knew it had struck.

For one second, nothing happened and he felt his hope turning into despair. He had thrown everything he had and some more at it. He was out.

Then a line appeared right between its eyes and the stalker slowly began to fall into halves.

Jaune sighed in relief. "It's dead, right? Please tell me it's not like that hydra bullcrap."

He was met with silence. "Guys?" He looked at them and saw them staring at the corpse in amazement and shock.

"That really just happened, right?" Ren asked out loud.

Pyrrha nodded mutely.

"Nora, pinch me." Ren ordered. Then he yelped. "Not there!"

Nora giggled but even she looked shocked. "What was that?"

Jaune sat down, exhausted. "A spinning spear made of air."

"A what?" Ren asked.

"Spinning spear. Gathered all the mana I had in me and used it to compress the air around me." Jaune began tiredly. "Wasn't enough, so I tapped into the leyline."

"Mana? Leyline?"

He wasn't quite sure who was asking, because his vision became blurry and everything he heard sounded so far away.

"Mana's the spiritual energy inside all living things. You guys call it Aura. A leyline is a natural location where a buttload of mana gathers in. Got lucky. Beacon's standing on the biggest leyline I've ever felt." He answered. His voice sounded so far away…

"I'm gonna need a long nap to recharge my batteries…" he grumbled. Then his vision darkened and he heard no more.

He woke up two days later and was promptly informed that team leaders should not be napping away while their team mates were busy worrying about them.

* * *

**Vs Cardin**

It was most fortunate that he had gotten the most bullheaded guy in their year as his opponent. In was unfortunate that the guy was pretty damn strong, even though he was kind of slow, compared to some of the other students.

"Begin!" Goodwitch called out.

Cardin immediately charged at him, mace high in the air.

Jaune wasn't the best swordsman, but even he could block that. He raised his blade and let out a sharp breath as his arm was jarred by the strength on the attack.

Cardin lunged with his elbow and hit him in the chest, sending him wheezing back.

'_Okay, no contests of pure strength. This guy's pretty damn tough.'_

Cardin came at him again and Jaune immediately flicked the hand holding his shield.

A stone wall appeared in front or Cardin, who, with his momentum, could not stop and ran right into it. Jaune immediately charged ahead when he heard his opponent grunt.

The wall collapsed as he closed in and he lunged. Unfortunately, Cardin managed to come to his senses and managed to dodge most of it, although Jaune still cut across his shoulder, decreasing his opponent's Aura meter.

Speaking of which, he had never thought that he would find himself in a Pokémon battle, but here he was, trying to decrease his enemy's bar to 0.

Cardin swung his mace at him and Jaune raised his shield to intercept it. The blow hit him like a goddamaned truck and Jaune was sent flying.

Just because he wasn't completely inept with his weapons didn't mean he was proficient with them. Hell, he was mostly relying on instinct right now.

Cardin approached him slowly now, wary of any magical stone walls.

Jaune frowned. If this kept going as it was he was going to lose. Cardin was stronger and far more proficient with his weapon than he was. It was time to play to his strengths then. Nothing too flashy or destructive though.

He doubted Cardin would give him the time needed to pull those off. And no tapping into the leyline. He couldn't depend on it forever, not to mention that it was unhealthy for a wizard to repeatedly tap into a leyline. There was a reason souls naturally resisted the effect of other people's magic.

He quickly focused some air into a tightly compressed ball and threw at his opponent.

His gamble paid off. Cardin struck it with his mace and the air around him exploded into a haze that hampered visibility. Jaune smiled.

He expanded his senses and felt Cardin swinging his mace around wildly in the center of the cloud. He poured a little bit of mana into his blade. He couldn't use too much, not when he was using most of his mana to maintain the smokescreen over such large area.

He quickly dashed towards his enemy and slashed his arm before quickly disengaging. Cardin swung around wildly but Jaune was already running at him from another side. He once again aimed for his arm and jumped back.

The attacks weren't doing much damage though. Cardin's health bar was still mostly in the greens and his mana was quickly decreasing.

Jaune repeated the process a few more times before the mist finally faded, the mana he had used to maintain it spent.

Jaune was breathing heavily. Almost out of mana and physically exhausted from the quick hit and run attacks he had been carrying out. Cardin focused an angry glare on him.

"YOU!" he roared.

Jaune nodded. "Me." Then he pointed his blade at him. "C'mon then, big boy!"

Cardin roared and charged at him, too angry to focus on anything else.

He swung his mace at him and Jaune winced as it struck his shield, making his shield arm reverberate. Cardin swung again and Jaune barely managed to avoid being smashed into a bloody pulp by jumping back.

Then disaster struck in the shape of a mace. Enraged, Cardin kicked him the leg, causing Jaune to fall over. Cardin struck him on the shoulder with his mace and Jaune howled before slashing at his aggressor, causing him to disengage.

Jaune barely managed to get up. It all boiled down to this.

Cardin raised his mace before charging at him, much like he had at the beginning of this match.

The same overhead blow from the beginning of the duel descended upon him.

Jaune focused what little mana he had left on his arm and slashed his blade upwards.

Cardin's mace flew out of his hand. Jaune quickly took the opportunity to angle his blade right next to his opponent's throat.

"Yield?" he asked sardonically. The duel was over. Even though Cardin still had most of his health bar while his own was almost red.

"H…How?" Cardin asked in a shell shocked voice as he stared down at his empty hand.

Jaune grinned. "Earlier, when I began to attack you while you were disoriented. I charged my sword with some electricity."

Not enough for him to notice outright, but enough that it build up.

"I bet you can't feel your arms right now, bud." Jaune added with a smirk.

Cardin's arms hung loosely at his sides. He glared at him. "You…You cheated!"

Jaune considered it. Well, in a way, he supposed he had. He nodded slowly. "Of course I did. If you ever find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck." He declared cheerfully.

And really, how else was he expected to defeat him? He barely knew basics of swordplay!

Cardin's glare intensified. Jaune pressed Crocea Mors lightly into his throat, to remind the not to do anything stupid.

"You'll pay for this." Cardin declared.

Jaune shrugged. "Maybe. But right now, you're my bitch."

"Arc wins!" Goodwitch called out as she entered the arena and the simulation ended.

Cardin walked away angrily. Jaune blew a raspberry at him.

Goodwitch rolled her eyes before fixing a stern look on him. "Mr. Arc, while I applaud your ingeniousness, your sword form is atrocious."

He winced._ 'Yeesh, no need to beat around the bush!'_

"Also," she continued, unaware or uncaring of his sudden decrease of self-confidence. "although your plan worked this time, I must ask that you refrain from using tactics that deliberately put you at a disadvantage." She said as pointed towards the screen where their Aura was displayed.

His was red, almost close to 0. Cardin's had barely hit the yellow.

"It is likely that you might find yourself fighting more than one opponent at a time, after all." Goodwitch finished.

Jaune sighed. "Right, thank you, Professor."

She nodded. "See that you improve with your sword." And she left.

Well then, where to find a tutor?

* * *

**Winter Shenanigans:**

Ren shivered as he entered the classroom. Beacon had become an incredibly cold place once winter hit. Of course, the fact that Ozpin had chosen winter to upgrade the heaters, thus ensuring that they would be ready next year, did not help. At all.

He saw team RWBY as well as two of his team mates and walked towards them. Jaune was probably still in his lab.

"Oh, Ren! Here! Here! Here!" Nora called out.

He internally rolled his eyes. More out of habit than actual annoyance though. He had grown used to his friend's antics over the years.

"Morning." He greeted through clenched teeth. How Nora managed to sound chipper in spite of the cold temperature was something that was beyond him.

Everyone else greeted back glumly as he sat down.

"Man, it's so coooold!" Ruby complained.

"It's all in your mind." Weiss interrupted her before she could launch into a full tirade on how she was going to declare war on winter and they, as her team mates, were obligated to help.

Once was enough, thank you.

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you shivering?" Yang asked the apparently not so Snow Princess.

Weiss clamped up. "Am not."

"Are too." Yang countered most eloquently.

"Are not." Weiss riposted.

Are too." Yang insisted.

Blake rolled her eyes but she was also shivering.

This was the scene that Jaune saw as he entered the classroom. Ruby stopped cheering on her sister and her team mate and waved at him.

He smiled at waved back. Then he took a swig from a vial he was carrying. The hot liquid filled him with warmth and made him feel happy.

"Top of the morning to ya!" Jaune greeted his friends cheerfully. He sat down and took another swig from his vial.

"Ah…" he breathed out in satisfaction. "That's the stuff!"

They all looked at him curiously.

"Is that a potion?" Nora asked excitedly.

It might have been a silly question if he were anyone else. But, hey, wizard. Not to mention he had shared some Pepper-Up Potions with them before. They knew firsthand how effective they could be.

Hell, Weiss had even suggested a joint business venture! He was gonna roll in the greens if it all went right! He would have an entire library of tomes and grimoires! And the alchemical ingredients! And those video games that Ren had recently introduced him to!

He felt giddy at the prospect.

"What does it do?" Ruby also asked excitedly.

"Is it for this wretched cold? Because I will buy it off of you if it is." Weiss interjected.

They all froze at that. And not because of the cold.

"Weiss!" Yang exclaimed indignantly while glaring at the white haired student.

"What?" replied said student.

"I need that more than you!" Yang explained.

"No, you don't!"

"Wait, I want the potion too!" Nora interjected.

Pyrrha gave him a winning smile. "Jaune?"

"Hey, no fair! No pulling the partner card!" Yang glared at the redhead.

Pyrrha flushed. "I was not-"

Jaune tuned them out as he felt someone watching him intently. He looked around and saw Blake looking at his vial with an intensity that scared him a little. He decided to ignore her for now.

"I suggested it first so it's mine!" Weiss glared at them.

"But he's my friend!" Ruby complained.

"Well, he's my partner!" Pyrrha interjected.

"But he's my pancake buddy! Right?" Nora turned to look at him with a hopeful look.

Jaune impassively watched on as his friends bickered and took another swig.

"Hey, Jaune, buddy." Ren suddenly nudged him.

"Yeah?" Anyone could see where this was going.

"We're friends, right?" Ren asked quietly, trying to be stealthy. Which was probably a failed effort as Blake was already glaring at the magenta eyed she-boy.

Damn, she had good hearing.

"I like to think so, why?" Jaune asked, feigning ignorance.

"I don't suppose I could have that potion?" Ren asked with what passed as a hopeful look on his usually impassive face.

"Well…" Jaune began loudly, so that everyone else would hear him. "I suppose I could give you a potion…"

"Hey! I asked first!" Weiss interjected indignantly. "And I'm willing to pay!"

"But I need it more!"

"I'm freezing!"

"BUT!" Jaune added loudly, silencing the bickering peanut gallery. They all turned their gazes on him.

"I don't have any potions on me right now." Jaune finished.

They all stared at him. Then at his vial. Then back at him.

"Then what're you drinking?" Ruby asked him.

Jaune nodded slowly. "I understand your confusion. I'm a wizard and I'm drinking something out of a vial."

He held the vial out so people could look at it.

"But this is just hot cocoa." Jaune finished.

"What." Weiss asked flatly.

"Hey, it does smell like cocoa." Nora commented as she peered in.

"I was working late at the lab, got cold, made some hot cocoa, discovered I'd run out of cups, had to improvise." Jaune explained.

"What." Ren asked flatly.

They seemed pretty disappointed.

Jaune smiled at them. "But hey, I'm pretty sure I left some back at the lab. It should still be pretty warm too."

They all looked up.

His smile widened. "But of course, there wasn't that much left so it's pretty much first come first serve."

Silence descended on the classroom.

"Oh, and I added some cream too." Jaune added. "I make good cocoa."

Blake got up. "I have to go to the bathroom." And she was out of the classroom before he could blink.

"Liar!" Yang yelled as she got up and ran after her.

It didn't take long for everyone else to get up and run after her, calling out random things as they left.

"I'm sorry, but that cocoa's mine!" Pyrrha called out as she ran after the blonde her partner.

"Wait, no, it's mine!" Ruby called out as she ran out the door.

"Hey, wait! Stop!" Weiss exclaimed indignantly as she ran after her partner.

"Hey, Ren! Let's go get me some cocoa!" Nora cheered. Then she looked around, confused. "Ren? Ren?"

Jaune pointed towards the door.

"What?!" Nora looked really indignant. "Come back here, Lie Ren!"

Jaune's smile couldn't possibly have widened any more, but that did not mean he wasn't feeling…satisfied.

He hadn't lied per say, but he had neglected to mention how little there was left. He had just wanted to sit by the window, where Team RWBY had chosen to sit.

That was his spot, not theirs! He had claimed it the day they had entered this classroom, even if no one had acknowledged him.

He sat down and looked out the window and saw snowflakes drifting towards the ground.

Life was good.

Of course, they would be angry once they discovered his ruse, but that's where Cardin came in. Cardin didn't know it yet, but wizards were subtle and quick to anger. Well, he wasn't but what mattered was the idea behind the phrase.

Jaune was not a happy camper with the other boy. He had already planted a vial in his bag.

Bullying a cute bunny eared girl like by pulling on said bunny ears…He wanted to be the first guy to touch her fluffy ears, damn it!

* * *

AN: I drew some inspiration from various sources, like The Gamer (spinning spear), Harry Potter (Pepper Up Potion), and various other books and anime (leylines).

Hope you all enjoyed!


	3. It all started with a contract

**It all started with a contract...**

**Introductions**

Jaune looked at the mail he had received with undisguised glee as well and as amazement. His transcripts had been accepted. He would be going to Beacon soon!

"Yes!" he cheered as he waved his acceptance letters around.

It was then that another piece of paper fell out, a paper he hadn't seen. A paper that he was sure hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

Curious, he picked it up.

"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." he read out loud.

There was also a line at the bottom, where he guessed he had to sign.

He shrugged. It was probably some kind of insurance policy or something. The important thing was that he was going to Beacon!

He reached for his pen and signed the paper.

He was finally going to Beacon! He was finally going to make his family proud! He was final going to be a hero!

Jaune Arc was so busy imagining himself as a gallant knight saving princesses that he failed to notice the contract he had just signed vanished.

Later, he would swear he had just imagined it.

* * *

**On the way to Beacon**

Jaune sighed as he realized that he would have to get on a plane to get to Beacon. Not that he was afraid of getting in, mind you. That would be ridiculous, especially for a hero in training.

It's just that he wasn't particularly fond of planes. Or cars. Or busses. Or motorcycles. Or horses. Or any sort of means of transportation, really.

'_Okay, stomach, I don't like you, and you don't like me, but please get me through this and I swear I'll pig out on bacon as soon as I have the chance.'_

He entered the flying coffin and quickly found a seat by the window.

'_Please, please, please…' _he desperately prayed to any entity that might've been listening.

Of course, his stomach lurched the moment the plane took off, destroying all his hopes.

He closed his eyes tightly. Maybe if he couldn't see his stomach wouldn't eject everything he'd eaten.

Yeah, right, because that had worked so well before.

Still, Jaune Arc was a master at the art of Denial and kept his eyes closed, desperately hoping his stomach would calm down.

Suddenly, his stomach felt fine. He opened his eyes hesitantly. Then he closed them again.

He took a deep breath and opened them again.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, young man." a man with a ridiculously long nose greeted him. "It has been years since we last had a guest."

Panicked, Jaune began to look around, wondering why he was suddenly in a completely blue room with Pinocchio's grandfather. No wait, was he in an elevator?

"There's no need to panic, young man." If Pinocchio thought that reading his mind while grinning creepily would make him calm down, he was in for a surprise. "I mean you no harm."

"Where am I?" Jaune blurted out, still feeling pretty alarmed.

"This," the old man gestured around him, "is the Velvet Room. This is a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter."

How was someone supposed to react to something like that?  
"Huh?" Jaune managed to get out.

"My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance," Igor introduced himself. "And this," Igor gestured to his side, where Jaune saw a beautiful woman with yellow eyes standing next to him, "Is Caroline. She is a resident here, like myself."

"Pleased to meet you." Caroline smiled at him.

"Huh? Uh, right, likewise." Jaune nodded. Then he stopped. "Wait, no, where am I? What is this, is this a dream?!"

Igor chuckled. "Indeed. This is a room that can only be accessed by those that are bound by a contract."

Wait, what? Contract?

Igor waved his gloved hand and the paper he had signed appeared in the table before him. Jaune's eyes widened.

"That…But that is…" he stammered out. So it _was_ real.

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests, so that they might achieve their full potential." Igor went on, ignoring his weak attempts to regain some semblance of control.

"All I ask is that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make," the large nosed man reached into his pocket and offered him a key, "Hold on to this."

Still confused, he took the key.

"But I…That is…" he once again tried.

"But alas, time marches on in your world. We shall meet again." Igor interrupted his thoughts.

"Wait, I still have more-"

Everything faded.

"-questions!" Jaune blurted out as he woke up. People around him began to give him strange looks.

He desperately looked around, hoping to see something, anything that would help him convince himself that he wasn't insane.

On the one hand, no long nosed man. On the other, _no long nosed man._

'_Was I…Was I dreaming?'_

He resolved to never sleep in planes again. How had that even happened anyways? Wasn't he supposed to be puking his sto-

"Urk!" Jaune breathed out as his stomach lurched.

Oh, lovely. Speak of the devil and he will appear.

He looked around wildly, hoping to find a bathroom. Fueled by desperation, he rapidly found the bathroom sign and quickly ran towards its door; accidentally letting loose his stomach's wrath on some innocent blonde's boots while on the way.

"Hey! Ugh gross!" he heard her say, which killed any chances he might've had with her. He tore the door open and began the long, tedious process of…well…_releasing his demons_.

It was only during a brief moment when his stomach decided to cut him some slack that he noticed something in his pocket.

A quick search revealed a key. More specifically, the key that the creepy old ma-Igor. The key that Igor had given him.

So, in summation, he had just made a fool of himself, signed what was probably a contract with a shady organization, had just about ruined any chances he might have had with one the hottest girl he had ever seen, was no longer sure of how sane he was, and his stomach was still trying to punish him for getting into a plane.

Just a typical start for Jaune Arc, Transcript faker extraordinaire.

* * *

**Initiation**

Jaune closed his eyes as his new partner instructed.

Pyrrha placed her hands on him. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." She intoned, causing something inside him to stir.

It was not an uncomfortable feeling.

Pyrrha frowned. "That's strange."

"What is?" Jaune asked her.

"I can't seem to awaken your Aura." She replied with concern.

"But I…But I felt something!" Jaune protested.

She examined him. "I definitely felt your Aura when I reached out to you…But it felt…different."

Of course. Because why should things ever be normal with him?

She frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe I didn't use enough?"

"Come again?"

"It is possible that I simply didn't use enough Aura," she answered, "Although there was something definitely strange within you…"

Well, he had a key that no one else had been able to see until now. He decided to change the subject.

"We can figure it out later. We should focus on finishing this test first." He told her.

Huh. He had never expected to be the one to remind other to focus. It was usually others berating him for not paying attention.

She nodded, even though she still looked doubtful. "Alright, but be careful. Aura's the only thing that lets us survive against the grimm."

He shuddered. "Right."

* * *

**Initiation part 2**

Jaune wondered what entity he'd angered to end up in a situation like this.

"Nora, distract it!" he heard the other boy, Ren, yell.

He chanced a look back and saw the girl, Nora, pull out a grenade launcher, which she began to fire at the Nevermore.

He was never going to feel like a man around that girl, was he?

Still, he heroically did his best to aid the fleeing group by putting on a burst of speed, putting more distance between him and the monsters behind him.

Which did nothing to stop the Nevermore from flying straight towards the bridge they were on.

The Nevermore struck, sending him flying forward as a portion of the bridge collapsed, leaving his partner, Ren and the black haired girl with the ribbon on the other side, where the Deathstalker was rapidly approaching them.

Now Jaune Arc may have been completely incompetent when it came to fighting, but he did not lack courage.

"We have to get there!" he told Nora, who had landed next to him.

Nora grinned. He had a growing suspicion that he was not going to like that grin.

His suspicions were confirmed when Nora managed to launch them both towards the other side of the bridge, by smacking him with what had been a grenade launcher but was now a Warhammer and blasting them off towards the stalker.

He groaned as he forced himself up. Landing on his face was not something that he enjoyed.

He looked around and saw Pyrrha, Nora and Ren.

For one brief moment he wondered where the black haired girl was before he saw her use her gun whip to pull herself up towards the Nevermore.

It was a testament to his adaptation skills that he managed to form a coherent thought at the sight.

'_Well, I guess I don't have to worry about her.'_

He looked at the rapidly approaching stalker.

Never let it be said that Jaune Arc was a coward. "Let's go!"

Only an idiot.

Surprisingly, he managed to block one of the stalker's attacks, giving his partner time to slash at it. That's where his good fortune ran out.

In another world, one where Jaune hadn't signed an unusual contract, one where his Aura had been awakened, he would have been able to stand his ground enough for someone else to help him.

In this world, even though he managed to block the stalker's attack, he was flung back.

Shortly afterwards, Ren was also thrown off, although he had the misfortune of getting slammed into a pillar.

Groggily, Jaune forced himself up just as the Stalker's tail came down on him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she threw herself between them.

Her shield was thrown off, and the stalker's pincer quickly took advantage of her momentary distraction by slamming her sword away.

Pyrrha stood between him and the stalker, weaponless.

Nora was too far away to do anything but fire, which would also injure them.

The stalker reared its tail for the coup de grâce.

In spite of the fact that he was most likely going to die soon, the only thing he could look at was Pyrrha's trembling back as she stood between him and the stalker.

And in that moment, Jaune cursed himself. He cursed everything he'd done. Faking transcripts, putting people that deserved so much more at risk because of his own silly little fantasies.

No. No matter what happened to him, he would not allow anyone to be hurt because of him. "Wha-!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she found herself being pushed to a side.

He refused to see anyone die because of him. He wasn't going to let good people die because of his mistakes!

With newfound determination, he glared up at the stalker, determined to at least face death with some dignity, when he felt something in his hand.

He looked down at his palm, which now held a shimmering blue card in it. In spite of his current situation, he felt a savage glee coursing through him.

Jaune suddenly felt a smirk growing on his face. He raised the card.

The time had come.

"Per…so…na." A word he had never used before. He crushed the card it by forming a defiant fist. A wave of power surged through him, and his face broke into an insane grin. Blue flames shimmered around him.

**I am thou…Thou art I…From the sea of thy soul, I come forth.**

Behind him, a caped figure clad in silver armor manifested itself behind him, holding a spear in his armored hands.

**I am Setanta, He who would become the hound of Culann.**

Jaune's manic grin widened as the figure behind him drew a spear. Setanta charged at the Deathstalker, spear poised to strike and successfully managed to force the stalker back.

"What…What is that?" Pyrrha asked him as she stared at the pale figure battling the deathstalker.

Jaune's answer was to charge at the stalker, sword raised.

He heard Pyrrha call his name, but he with the sudden feeling of euphoria coursing through him, he ignored her.

He slashed at the stalker, who was too distracted by Setanta to attempt anything. The stalker let out a sound similar to a shriek and retreated even further, although he did notice that he hadn't actually hurt it all that much.

Still, that been…Strong. Too strong.

The stalker lunged with its pincers and he immediately dodged to a side.

Too fast.

He had never been this strong or fast in his life. Was this how the others felt when using Aura?

Regardless, Nora took the opportunity to fire at the stalker while Pyrrha retrieved her weapons.

Things were finally beginning to look up for them when disaster struck as Setanta made a mistake and overextended.

"Gah!" Jaune cried out as the stalker managed to slam Setanta away with its pincer.

He held his head in agony as Setanta disappeared.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out.

Jaune glared at the stalker, still holding his head.

He needed something, anything, to help get Pyrrha out of here. She didn't deserve to fall here because of a mediocre partner. That girl, Nora, she didn't deserve to die here either, even though she had smacked him with that hammer of hers.

It was just as those thoughts flashed through his mind that he felt something warm within him.

He reached within him and the card appeared in his hand once more.

"Agi!" he yelled as he crushed the card.

Setanta appeared once more and twirled his spear around, causing fire to burst underneath the Stalker. Even though he knew he should have been surprised at the sudden appearance of fire, he wasn't. If anything, he would have been more surprised if nothing had happened.

The stalker, probably not having even expected flames to burst out underneath it, let out a sound akin to a shriek and was forced back once more. Jaune knew this was their chance.

"Let's do this!" he called out in an ironic callback to his first failed attempt.

Pyrrha raised her shield and threw it at the retreating stalker, managing to prevent it from recovering its balance just as he and Nora began to bombard it with fire and purple grenades.

The combined explosions managed to damage its tough carapace, but Nora's ammo was finite and he could feel his own energy ebbing away with every burst of fire.

This was not a fight he could afford to prolong.

"Setanta!"

The silver plated apparition stopped conjuring its bursts of flames and drew its spear back. He grinned at his partner, who grinned back and drew her own spear back.

"Now!"

They both threw them at the same time. The stalker, still off balance, still trying to avoid Nora's shots, found itself unable to block or dodge.

The spears both pierced through the stalker's armored head. The stalker shrieked and reared back, swinging its pincers around wildly, which Nora took advantage of by running towards it.

She swung her hammer downwards, giving herself a boost and rising much higher than he would have thought possible.

Then she brought the hammer down in a devastating blow, cracking its damaged skull and killing it instantly.

Jaune panted as he observed the monstrosity's last twitch. Behind him, Setanta stood tall and raised its spear once before disappearing.

"We…we did it." He said incredulously. They had actually managed to pull it off.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered as she waved her Warhammer, still with bits of stalker dripping from it.

Pyrrha smiled at him. "We definitely did."

Jaune smiled at her and was about to answer when he felt his legs give out.

Fortunately, his partner caught him before he fell. "Jaune?!"

Gods, he felt so tired…so…tired…

"I…just…tired…" he muttered before his vision faded.

"Jaune!"

"Hey, are you okay?!"

* * *

**Answers and Links**

When Jaune finally opened his eyes, he found himself back at a familiar looking velvet room.

"It is so nice to see you again." Jaune looked up and saw Igor grinning at him. "You became unconscious after awakening to your power."

"Power? Do you mean…that thing that came out of me?" Jaune asked him, "This…Persona?"

"Indeed," the old man nodded, "By the way, I see it was Setanta who answered your call…most interesting."

"What is this…"Persona"?" Jaune asked.

"A persona is a manifestation of your psyche. You can think of it as a…" Igor paused briefly, "a mask. A mask that protects you as you brave life's many hardships."

Hardships, as in giant scorpions? Were Grimm things that people normally faced in their lives? Speaking of which, what were Grimm? Creatures of darkness didn't really explain much.

"That being said, your power is still weak." Igor interrupted his thoughts.

"Weak?" Of course. Jaune Arc, still a disappointment even with newfound power.

Igor nodded. "Indeed. When you use your ability, you channel your inner strength."

So he was inwardly weak? Great.

"The ability evolves," the old man continued, giving him hope that maybe, just maybe, he could actually get stronger, "as you develop your Social Links. Your emotional ties with others."

So, in order to get stronger, he had to make friends? Not only was that ridiculous, it was also so very wrong.

"But that's wrong!" Jaune blurted, "Then I would just be making friends for power!"

It didn't matter how strong this made him. He refused to keep this power if he had to manipulate others.

Besides, with the way things were going? It'd be a miracle if he made one friend in Beacon.

"You misunderstand," Igor answered with that perpetual grin on his face. "A Social Link requires you to bond with others. You yourself must be willing to open up to others to form a Link."

Well, that was mildly reassuring. Still something he was leery about.

"Now then, time marches on in your world. Next time, I suspect you will come here of your own accord. Until then, farewell."

"Wait, I still have more-"

Everything faded.

"-questions!" Jaune blurted out as he jolted up.

"Jaune?" he looked around and saw Pyrrha looking at him with concern. "Do you have any questions?"

Yes, but not for her.

"No, I just had a weird dream." He replied tiredly. He looked around. That wasn't a familiar ceiling.

"Where am I?" he demanded, truly getting sick of waking up in unusual locations that he couldn't recognize.

"In the infirmary. You passed out after the initiation exam, remember?" she asked him.

Well, he did now. He sighed as he remembered the stalker and all that had transpired during that fight. He looked at his partner sadly.

"I'm so sorry," He told her, feeling truly remorseful. "You deserved a better partner."

Pyrrha stopped and gave him an inquisitive look.

"It's my fault that you almost died." Jaune finished, feeling pretty disgusted with himself. Pyrrha truly deserved better than a con man who had somehow managed to acquire a power that didn't feel like he deserved at the moment.

He had not only endangered her life, he had deliberately ignored her warnings and had gotten an angry deathstalker chasing after them as a result.

Pyrrha walked towards him and he looked down at the bed he was lying in, unable to meet her eyes.

Then she punched him.

"Gah!" he cried out. By the gods, she had strong hook!

"Okay, listen up." Jaune looked up and saw Pyrrha glaring down at him.

"I chose you, understood?" Pyrrha told him sternly, "When you were falling? That spear? I didn't have to do that."

Jaune blinked. "Wha-"

Her glare softened. "I wanted you to be my partner."

That was…That was quite possibly the nicest thing someone that wasn't a family member had ever told him. But he couldn't accept it.

"But I'll only drag you down!" Jaune protested. "I'm only going to be a deadwei-"

"I prefer to think that we'll both push each other up." She interrupted him before smiling at him. "Besides, what you did back there? That's not something that deadweights would do. So what do you say, partners?"

She offered him her hand.

Jaune hesitated. "I can't do too much yet."

"That's what partners are for, right?"

Jaune started to smile a little. "I don't even understand this power I got."

"We'll figure it out." She replied with a small shrug, "Together."

Jaune smiled at her and took her hand. "Partners then"

She smiled back. "Partner it is."

**SMASH**

Suddenly, the world seemed to have frozen for him. He couldn't even more anymore. As if that weren't weird enough, he heard a strange voice. There was a voice inside his head that wasn't his own.

**Thou art I…And I am thou…**

**Thou hast established a new bond… **

**Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a **

**Persona of the Strength Arcana...**

He felt something warm inside him and suddenly, the world began to move again.

Jaune looked around, alarmed. "Did you...did you hear that?"

Pyrrha looked at him with concern. "What are you talking about?"

"That voice! The one just now!" Jaune gestured around him wildly.

"Jaune, are you okay?" she was now looking at him with concern.

"That voice…that…" he tried once again. Seeing his partner's confused look, he sighed and gave up. "Never mind must've been my imagination. How long have I been out?"

"A little under five hours." She answered, still looking worried.

Well, that was anti climatic. Also, so that was a Social Link. Igor really could've warned him about the voices.

He looked out the window and saw that it had gotten dark out.

"We should probably go back to the Auditorium. Ozpin said he was going to assign our teams." She told him.

He got up. "Let's go!"

* * *

**The creation of JNPR**

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin called.

They were in the auditorium, where the teams would be assembled.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!" Ozpin declared.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR." Ozpin called his name and that of his new team mates.

Nora was hugging Ren tightly, if his face was any indication and Pyrrha was smiling lightly.

"Led by..."

Pyrrha? She'd make an excellent leader. Or maybe Ren? He seemed calm and collec-

…Jaune Arc!"

Come again?

Pyrrha gave him a celebratory punch.

It was a punch that he himself did not consider celebratory at all. In fact, he had to bite back a shriek of agony.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin continued.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... "

Weiss? She was the daughter of a very important man after all.

"Ruby Rose!" Ozpin finished.

Jaune stared.

Ah, well, if he was a leader then Ruby certainly deserved the chance to become one too.

"I'm Nora Valkyrie!" Nora introduced herself the moment the assembly ended. "And this is Lie Ren!" she grabbed Ren and pushed him in front of him.

Jaune jumped back, startled.

Ren sighed and lightly pushed her off. "She gets excited sometimes."

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. Nice to meet you." Pyrrha nodded politely.

"Oh, and I'm Jaune-" he began.

"Jaune Arc, right?" only to be interrupted by Nora.

He nodded.

"Do you like pancakes? What do you feel about hammers? What is your opinion on breaking legs? What do you feel about explosions?" she suddenly fired quite a number of questions at them in rapid succession.

"They're okay, they're not my style, it's a valid strategy, and they have their uses." His partner answered just as quickly.

Nora glared at her. "Just okay? Not your style? You looking down on pancakes and hammers?"

Ren coughed and gestured towards him. Nora stopped glaring at her and looked at him expectantly. Jaune had a feeling that he wasn't going anywhere until he answered her questions.

"Ah…I love them, they're pretty awesome," he stopped, struggling to remember her next question.

Ren sighed and gestured at his legs.

Oh, right. Leg breaking.

"Leg breaking is fin-" Jaune stopped again and gave the orange haired girl an alarmed look. "Leg breaking?!"

She nodded excitedly.

That…umm….meep.

Still, looking at the excitable girl's face and considering the way she glared at Pyrrha for not…umm…choosing the right answers, he knew that there was only one answer that wouldn't get him a pair of broken legs. "They're…uh….fine? As long…as it doesn't…happen of any of us?"

She smiled at him, which was a good sign before motioning him to go on. Which was a bad sign.

"What was the last question again?" he asked sheepishly.

The girl, Nora, pouted. "Explosions! Are they cool or are they cool?"

He didn't know why, but he felt as he only had one choice here.

'_I chooseth this fate of mine own free will', my ass.'_ He thought bitterly.

"They're…cool?" he asked more than answered. Fortunately, this seemed to satisfy her.

"Oh, we're gonna have so much fun, leader!" she declared. "Right, heathen and Ren?"

Pyrrha sputtering was not a sight he was gonna get used to seeing. "My name is Pyrrha!" his partner cried out indignantly.

"Alright, blasphemer!" Nora chirped happily.

Jaune and Ren both chuckled and then grinned at each other.

This was…this was nice, in spite of the blatant display of psychosis. Really. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally make some friends here.

**SMASH**

**Thou art I…And I am thou…**

**Thou hast established a new bond… **

**Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a **

**Persona of the Fool Arcana...**

He was beginning to wonder if he should see a psychiatrist.

* * *

**The door**

"So when they saw the blood on my shirt they naturally assumed it was mine. So I had to explain to them that-," Nora began telling her story.

"Wait!" Jaune interrupted her.

"What?" she asked him unhappily.

He looked at the velvet door next to the door to their room. A VELVET door.

He sighed.

"Jaune? Is there something wrong?" Pyrrha asked him.

He pointed at the door. "Does anyone else see that? Please tell me someone else can see it."

"What? The wall?" Ren asked him while looking at him as if he were insane, or worse, Nora.

He sighed again. "No? No one?"

"Oh, I know!" Nora exclaimed.

Jaune looked at her hopefully. "You do?"

She nodded. "You see dead people, right?"

He had to fight the urge to facepalm. "No, nothing like that." He reached into his pocket, where the key he was sure he had left behind was, and sure enough, the key was right there. He used it to open the door.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." A familiar voice greeted him.

He looked up. Yup, man with long nose.

"Hello, Igor."

He looked at the girl standing beside the old man. "And hello to you, Caroline."

She smiled at him. "Greetings."

"I suppose it is time for me to explain what I really do here." Igor began.

Oh, gods, yes, please do.

"It is my job to create new personae." Igor went on.

Wait, what? New personae? He could have more?

"But in order to do so, I must fuse your persona cards together."

Wait, fuse?

"In other words, I shall merge them into a single persona."

So he'd be losing his personae to get a stronger one? Huh.

"Furthermore," Igor interrupted his thoughts. "If you've established a Social Link, you may be able to create an even stronger persona."

The concept of making friends to become stronger was one that still made him wonder if he was stuck in some sort of videogame.

"So, as you accumulate cards, please bring them to me." Igor finished.

Jaune sighed. "Will do. And before you kick me out again, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Igor and Caroline shared amused looks. "Very well. But before you do, I cannot, as you say, kick you out as you entered this room while conscious."

Oh good.

"How do I get new personae? How many can I hold?" he asked him.

Igor's grin seemed to widen. "Your ability is unique. It's like the number zero…empty, but at the same time hold infinite possibilities."

The part about him being a zero was right, but the rest made no sense to him.

"You, my boy, are able to wield multiple personae and summon them as needed."

So wait, he had multiple personalities?

"And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp... But, do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly." Igor explained.

So, he had to fight to get more personae? Okay, maybe he _was _stuck in some kind of videogame.

"Gotcha." He stood up. "Well, I'll see you later, I guess."

He surprised himself by his nonchalant attitude, when just a few days ago Igor's visage had almost given him a panic attack.

"Till we meet again…"

When his eyes opened, the first thing he was Pyrrha looking at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Yeah, you looked like a zombie." Nora added.

He blinked. "It was nothing! I'm alright!"

"You didn't just doze off, right? You're our leader!" Nora chastised him. "At least wait until we're in a classroom, where you can sit down!"

What?

"Nora, you weren't planning to sleep during class and copy my notes afterwards, right?" Ren asked her with a sigh.

"Hehehe, maybe?" Nora chuckled nervously.

Pyrrha sighed. "We should just go before we're late."

"Righti-o!" Nora cheered.

Jaune looked at them and back at the velvet door.

He resolved to convince them of the door's existence or die trying.

* * *

**Chariot 1**

"Hey, Nora?" Jaune asked.

"Hm? Jaune? What is it?" the excitable girl asked him.

"How? How do you manage to stay so optimistic all the time?" he asked her.

She gave him an unusually serious look.

"Nora?"

Her face broke into a grin that he was more accustomed to. "I don't know, I just do!"

Of course.

He sighed. "I see."

"Why?" Nora asked him. "Did you get shot down by Weissy again?"

He smiled sadly. "Yeah. I'm starting to think she's right and that I don't belong here."

She frowned. "Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

She punched him.

"Ow!" he cried out. "Why'd you do that?!"

"No more quitter talk!" she declared.

"But she made some good po-"

She punched him again. "No more quitter talk!"

"OW!" Jaune cried out again. "But Nora, look, she di-"

"NO MORE QUITTER TALK!"

He sighed. "But what if she's right?"

"Then you prove her wrong! Where's the Jaune Arc that helped the GREAT NORA VALKYRIE single handedly take down a Deathstalker?"

"Great? And wait, single handedly? Even though we helped you?" Jaune asked her with an amused look.

"Details!" Nora answered cheerfully.

Jaune chuckled.

"Feeling better now?" Nora asked him.

He nodded. "For some reason, yeah, I do."

She nodded sagely. "It's because I'm awesome!"

He grinned. "That you are."

She grinned right back. "Okay, then, come on, let's go!"

"Go? Go where?" Jaune asked her.

"Well, we're going to TP her room, right?" Nora asked him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What? NO!" Jaune denied.

Nora pouted. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt anyone?" he answered. "Because her team lives there?"

"It won't hurt them! And besides, she hurt you, and you're on of ours!"

That…that was strangely touching. Nora might just be the broest bro of all bros.

"Thanks." He told her with a smile.

**SMASH**

What the hell?

**Thou art I…And I am thou…**

**Thou hast established a new bond… **

**Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a **

**Persona of the Chariot Arcana...**

Goddamn it, voices, goddamn it.

"Huh? Why?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Never mind that, we can't TP her room!"

"Aww, come on, just a little!" she whined.

"Why don't I go buy you some pancakes?" Jaune asked her with an amused sigh.

"Really? Let's go!" she cheered.

He spent an interesting time with her.

* * *

**Sun and Neptune**

"Uh, hey, Jaune?" Sun called him tentatively.

"Yeah?" Jaune answered.

"You know that thing you called out, that…Persona thing?" Neptune added hesitantly.

"What about them?" Jaune asked a little defensively.

"Can you…Can you summon one?" Sun requested.

"Right now?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Yeah." They both nodded.

Jaune shrugged. "Sure, but I'm not gonna make it cast any spell."

No need to waste his reserves unnecessarily, after all.

Sun nodded excitedly. "That's fine."

He called and the card appeared in his hand. "Persona!" he called out as he crushed it.

"Man, why do you always call out the names of your attacks when you do that?" Neptune muttered.

Jaune ignored the heathen. It wasn't something that could be explained.

Blue flames shimmered around him and Samael, the Poison of God appeared behind him.

The two seemed disappointed for some reason. "Aww, c'mon, man, not that one!"

"What?" Jaune asked, feeling confused.

"Can you summon that one, the one with the wings and the tail?" Sun asked him.

"What?" Jaune asked, still feeling very confused.

"The blonde one!" Neptune added.

Blonde…wings…and tail?

"Are you talking about Succubus?" he asked them.

"Yeah!" they both answered at the same time.

But why would they want to see Succubus? Sure, she had wings, which was cool, but Samael looked pretty cool. Not to mention it also had wings. Although Succubus did have some pretty powerful magic spells and oh gods, judging by their leers, these two sick freaks were fantasizing about his persona.

"NO!" Jaune almost yelled.

"Aww, c'mon, why not?" Neptune asked almost pleadingly.

Because his personae were manifestations of his own personality? Which meant that they were fantasizing about an aspect of his personality?

Wait, did that mean that he had the potential to become a slut?

Okay, enough with the psychoanalysis. That led to a dark, dark path.

"Because no! Aww, gross!" Jaune replied with disgust. "I'm outta here!"

"Aww, come on, man!"

* * *

**AN:** I blame the Persona 5 teaser video for this. Also, this story was both annoying and fun to write.

Annoying, because getting inside the character's heads is difficult and fun, because getting into their heads was entertaining.

I originally had a few more links written out, but this story was dragging on so long that I decided to scrap some.

I had far more fun trying to match each character to an arcana than I thought I would. My interpretations, are, of course, my own. Everyone has different opinions so it is very likely that not everyone will agree.

Ruby-Justice

Weiss-Moon

Blake-Hermit

Yang-Sun

Pyrrha-Strength

Nora-Chariot

Ren-Temperance

Goodwitch-Empress

Ozpin-Hierophant

Sun- Sun Just kidding, Magician

Neptune-Star

Roman-Fortune

Cinder-Devil

Cardin-Tower

Junior-Emperor


	4. Back again?

**Back again?**

**Introduction scene:**

Jaune Arc wearily pulled the blankets up to cover himself. He instinctively knew that he was not long for this world now.

He did not mind dying. In fact, he had been hoping for it for some time now. But he had never allowed himself to appear weak, to appear as anything but the leader that the people needed.

But it was fine now. He had made sure of it. Remnant, although still not as well as it had once been, was swiftly recovering.

He only hoped that the reforms and bills he had passed would remain in place, although he wasn't overly concerned. The War had the positive side effect of giving everyone a common enemy, something to work against, and that had brought people from different walks of life together.

Productivity in the reclaimed cities was rising and repairs had already been made to most of every city's major districts. Refugee camps were still full, but more and more people had begun to recover their homes.

He made sure that there was always an active force of huntsmen patrolling the borders of the areas where there were still reported sightings of Grimm. Still, most areas were mostly safe now, even with the diminished number of hunters on duty.

Yes, Remnant was quickly recovering.

That didn't mean everything had been solved. Far from it.

Every day people would complain about the number of refugees and they were missing many of the commodities that Remnant had once enjoyed. There were reports of missing persons and deaths every day, but even those had begun to diminish in comparison to the sheer numbers from the years that came right after the War.

There were yet cities to be taken back from the clutches of the Grimm, but for now, mankind was recovering rather nicely.

Jaune sighed with grim satisfaction as he thought back to his life. He had lived his life in service of others until now. He had done all he could to aid others.

It was at once both his greatest shame and pride. Shame, because as his nightmares reminded him, he had committed horrible atrocities, sacrificed countless good lives to ensure peace would come. But pride, because they had _won_. Against all odds, they had somehow managed to drive back the Grimm.

Although he had his fair share of regrets, he had no qualms about dying right now. If anything, it seemed like a blessing to him, after everything that had happened.

He wearily close his eyes and smiled.

Yes, everything was going to be fine now.

At the age of 82, Jaune Arc, formerly known as Vomit Boy, closed his eyes and his soul left his world.

* * *

Then, suddenly, Jaune Arc opened his eyes.

'_Where….Where am I?'_ he wondered. He could dimly hear someone droning on about Aura safety measures and other such things.

He blinked a few times to remove the drowsiness and looked up. The he froze.

'_This is…it's not possible!' _

Glynda Goodwitch stood before him. And she looked as just as she did when he was still a student in Beacon.

But that was impossible.

He had heard the she had perished when Beacon had been destroyed early on during the war, in an assault led by Roman himself. He had read the after action reports that detailed the many, many casualties suffered by both sides.

Glynda Goodwitch had died that day.

She couldn't be alive. She just couldn't.

"Is there something in my face, Mr. Arc?" she asked him.

Instincts from when he was a student, dormant instincts that had been unused in years flared up and he shook his head.

He heard some giggling and muttering and turned around. The sight left him speechless. Old classmates, old allied and old enemies.

But that wasn't possible. He had seen most of them fall. Hell, he had been responsible for some of their deaths!

"Then I suggest you pay attention, Mr. Arc. You can hardly afford to daydream in class." She berated him.

Jaune turned back to his former teacher nodded mutely. Then he turned around again, looking at the assembled group of people.

None of this was possible. Most of them had died and the few that survived should have been around his age. His eyes caught his reflection on one of the Academy's windows and promptly widened again.

He looked just as he did when he helped a little girl in red after she blew up. He looked just as he did when a fellow blonde had decided to call him Vomit Boy. He looked just as he did when he was eighteen.

His hand rose to his face to determine if it truly was his reflection. It was.

He looked around and saw Beacon as it used to be decades ago, when he was still a student in her grand halls.

'_What the hell is going on?_'

He took a deep breath and forced himself, through no small effort, to lock away every emotion he was feeling right now. It was one of the most useful skills he had acquired.

He…he had died. Of that he had no doubt. Then…

He looked around as saw a familiar face with silver eyes and black hair with red highlights. She waved cheerfully when she saw him staring at her.

…was this his punishment?

He forced himself to stop looking at his first friend, to stop himself from desperately drinking in her healthy, innocent appearance. He turned his gaze on her sister instead. A fellow blonde who was now smiling at him and cracking her knuckles.

He froze again as he stared at her. Gods, how beautiful she looked, so vibrant and full of energy! So unlike her future-self had been, consumed by vengeance and grief.

He looked away. He couldn't bear it. Couldn't stand to see the many faces he had failed.

It was vaguely ironic, a small part of him mused. That his punishment would be to see the people that he had so yearned to be with.

"Jaune, are you okay?" he heard a voice whispering behind him.

He froze yet again. He had not heard that voice in decades, but he would be able to recognize it anywhere.

He forced himself to look back and almost recoiled. _'Pyrrha…'_

She was looking at him with concern, much as she used to whenever he did something stupid. Just as she had right before he had sent her to her own death.

"I…ah…" he managed to stammer out.

"Jaune?" she asked him concernedly.

No. NO.

She had _died_. Much like everybody else. They had all died! He looked away.

"I'm…fine." He forced out.

She still looked concerned, but she didn't press the issue.

He looked around again. All his friends, all the people he had seen die or that he himself had sentenced to their deaths.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to rage. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

But in the end, he once again shoved down all those emotions threatening to explode.

'_Take a step back,'_ he imagined the old bastard telling him. _'Examine every fact, every possibility.'_

It was funny that even after all these years he imagined _his _voice guiding him.

He had died. It was possible this was simply his brain shutting down.

On the other hand, it was also possible that he had simply imagined dying and was now in a coma, although this was highly unlikely.

The third choice, which he thought was downright impossible, was that he had died and gone to hell.

He certainly hoped not. There was a chance of this nightmare ending in the first two cases.

For now, he decided to go along with this mess, hoping that it would end soon.

* * *

When the class ended, his feet moved towards the cafeteria along with what he hoped were hallucinations.

He kept looking around as he did. Everything was just as he remembered it, down to the trophies in the walls and the placement of furniture.

"Jaune? Jaune!" he was snapped out of his trance by someone calling him.

"Y-yeah?" he asked.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha, ever the one to fret over him, asked him with concern.

He nodded. "Yeah…Fine. I'm fine."

"Really? Because I noticed you seemed really, really distracted." Yang interjected with a small glare. "You were staring at my little sister, weren't you?"

What.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed indignantly.

He felt a sharp pang in his chest. He'd missed these little scenes. "No, I just…I…"

He looked away. "I'm sorry, but I need to go." He told them before quickly feeling the area.

"Hey, I was just kidding!" he heard Yang call after him. "Well, kind of!"

"Jaune!"

He ignored all of them as he walked away, forcing himself not to look at the familiar walls, the people, the classrooms…

'_No. NO! I don't care if this is Hell or a hallucination! I'm leaving Beacon tonight.'_

* * *

**Ozpin**

Jaune packed a few essentials into his little bag and quietly left the room. The last thing he wanted to do was wake his hallucinated team mates.

He made it to the courtyard without being seen by anyone and sighed. He'd forgotten how beautiful this place could be at night.

"It's a fine evening, wouldn't you agree?" a voice behind him startled him out of musings.

Jaune turned around and saw Ozpin standing by the fountain, looking up at the moon.

He snorted. "I should've known you'd be here."

"Beg your pardon?" Ozpin asked.

Jaune sighed. "I don't know why I forgot that you used to take walks around the courtyard every now and then."

One of Ozpin's eyebrows rose slightly. "Oh?"

"Well, it was nice seeing you, please don't write." Jaune told him before preparing to leave.

"Am I to understand that you're leaving?" Ozpin asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Jaune didn't even turn around as he walked away. "Yes, yes you are."

"May I ask why?"

This time he did turn around. "I simply don't want to be here."

"After all the effort you put in to get here?" Ozpin asked him incredulously.

"You mean faking my transcripts?" Jaune interjected. Ozpin's eyebrow rose again but he just nodded.

Jaune shrugged. "I simply don't want to be here." He repeated.

Ozpin nodded. "Have you told your friends of your intentions?"

Jaune snorted. "Gods no." he paused. "Oh, hell no, I know what you're doing."

Ozpin said nothing, simply motioning for him to continue. Bastard.

"You're the piece of my subconscious that tries to convince me to stay and face my problems or something, right? I'm not falling for it." Jaune told him. He began to feel a deep weariness seeping into him.

"Are you perhaps drunk?" Ozpin asked.

"No, although I certainly wish I was." Jaune replied tiredly. "Look, I know that I couldn't have foreseen what happened. I know that not everything that happened is my fault."

Ozpin almost took a step back when the blonde looked directly into his eyes.

"So please…Please just go away. I don't need to face my problems. And I certainly don't need this right now."

Those were not the young, idealistic eyes he had seen on the boy not too long ago. His eyes…

The blonde readjusted his bag over his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I…Even though you're all probably just hallucinations, please take care of them."

Those were the eyes he had seen staring back at him from the mirror after his war had ended.

After he had lost everyone he'd ever cared about.

"Wait!" he called out in a rare burst of emotion.

Jaune stopped. "What is it?"

"Tell me more about your hallucinations."

Jaune glared at him. "I do NOT need my own subconscious playing Dr. Phil on me."

"Please. Just humor me." He requested

The blonde sighed. "You sadistic bastard. If you had taken any other form, I would've just told you to piss off. But you just had to choose my mentor, huh?"

"Mentor?" Ozpin inquired. He hadn't personally taught anyone in more than a few decades.

Jaune sat down. "As you already know, it began during my second year here in Beacon…"

* * *

Ozpin did not know what to say. The blonde's tale was not one that anyone on their right minds would believe, but the amount of detail, his knowledge of things that he should not have known…

Just the fact that he knew so much about Roman Torchwick was almost enough for him to have the young Arc arrested and interrogated.

In fact, he would have called for security if he hadn't seen what kind of person Jaune Arc was before today.

So Ozpin decided to test him. He began to ask him questions about himself and other events that no one could possibly know.

Jaune answered all of them.

"How do you know all of this?" he demanded.

Jaune stared at him. "You know, for a figment of my imagination, you really are acting like I'd have expected Ozpin to."

"Oh, for-I am not a piece of your imagination!" Ozpin snapped in an uncharacteristic display of emotion.

Jaune snorted. "That's what I'd expect a piece of my imagination to say."

Ozpin glared at him. "Be that as it may, you have information that could prove to be useful as well as dangerous. I'm afraid I can no longer allow you to leave."

Jaune glared back. "You think I'm some kind of spy? My own hallucinations are accusing me of spying?"

Ozpin reached for his cane. "I'm not sure about your hallucinations, but you present a security leak that I cannot overlook."

Jaune's hand grasped Crocea Mors. "Fine. I did always dream of defeating you someday, after all."

* * *

The first thing Ozpin noticed as they began fighting was that this could not possibly be Jaune Arc.

His combat style was too fluid, too developed to be Jaune Arc's who was at best, a mediocre fighter.

But…

Jaune lunged and Ozpin easily sidestepped his attack.

…his movements were somewhat sloppy and uncoordinated.

Ozpin launched a counterattack with his cane and Jaune was forced to lift his shield to block before jumping back to disengage.

Jaune grimaced as he stumbled as he landed but launched himself forward almost immediately, shield held in front of him.

Ozpin jumped to a side, swinging his cane in a blow that would knock him out, but somehow, almost as if he had been expecting that, he found Crocea Mors already in position, blocking his attack.

"You fight too well to be Jaune Arc." Ozpin commented as he parried another attack.

"And you're still holding back!" Jaune answered him as he was once more forced to disengage.

They both stared at each other silently.

Then Ozpin lunged, deciding to go on the offensive.

He attacked in a flurry of strikes that connected fluidly into another attack. Over and over he kept his endless assault going, always keeping his enemy on the defensive, slowly forcing him to retreat.

His enemy deftly blocked and dodged all his attacks, preventing any sort of damage, although never given enough time to counterattack.

Had he been fighting anyone else, he would have been impressed.

* * *

Jaune grimaced as Ozpin kept up his attack. He knew he couldn't allow this to go on. On the upside, he knew his mentor's combat style and he knew were the small openings were.

'_Wait for it…'_

Ozpin attacked again, and in that small moment before the attack could connect to another, Jaune lashed out with his foot, hoping to trip him or buy him enough time to disengage, but he once again miscalculated and his kick didn't even come close to connecting.

Worse yet, his failed attempt left him horribly open.

He cursed the fact that years of not fighting had left him rusty. He cursed himself for failing once more, to compensate for his eighteen year old body.

* * *

Ozpin saw that the boy had made a mistake, for which he was grateful. Somehow, this boy knew how his combat style worked, and had attacked in the right moment.

Pity he had miscalculated. Ozpin lunged, eager to finish this fight.

* * *

Jaune knew that at this point, there wasn't much he could do. He couldn't block, he couldn't dodge and he most certainly could not attack.

The attack connected solidly, making him see stars and sending him flying back.

Ozpin was already charging at him.

Disoriented, Jaune decided to change tactics. "Summer Rose!" he cried out.

Ozpin faltered, and Jaune immediately got back to his feet and put some distance between them.

"How do you know about her?" Ozpin demanded.

"I read all the after action reports in your cabinet, remember?" Jaune replied.

For a hallucination, "Ozpin" acted remarkably like Ozpin might've. He could also apparently cause him real pain, which meant he should not take him lightly

"That aside, I've come to realize that even though you're a hallucination, you're not the kind of opponent that I can go easy on." Jaune told him as he raised his blade.

Ozpin froze. "That stance…But that's impossible!"

"Therefore!" Jaune called out. "Allow me to introduce you to my strongest attack."

Channeling the entire Aura in his body, he forced it into his blade and Crocea Mors accepted his offering.

Crocea Mors, a blade wielded by conquerors, saints and heroes.

His blade began to glow golden, a dazzling light that was almost blinding in its intensity.

* * *

Ozpin stared, transfixed. This…this was something he had only seen once in his life. An attack used by…

He shook his head. There was no time for idle thoughts. He raised his cane and aimed it at the blonde before pulling the trigger hidden in the handle, unleashing a beam of highly concentrated energy that had pierced through fortresses in his past.

With some luck, this would knock out the boy, because if it didn't, he was in for a rather trying time.

When the dust subsided, his eyes widened.

Jaune Arc stood before him, shield raised and also glowing.

"This is the end." Jaune, and there was no doubt in his mind anymore that he was truly Jaune, told him solemnly.

Ozpin lowered his cane. "It would seem as though I underestimated you."

With a loud cry, Jaune charged at him and jumped into the air, swinging his blade downwards.

Just as he was about to strike, Ozpin swung his cane upwards. Their two weapons connected and the air around them exploded outwards.

Ozpin's feet sank as the ground underneath him crumbled. He grit his teeth and brought his free arm up to reinforce.

He heard a loud crack and saw his cane beginning to crumble under the intense pressure of Arc's attack.

"Ozpin!" he dimly heard a voice call out. He ignored it. He could not afford to get distracted right now.

An explosion went off right in front of him and Jaune Arc was sent flying back, just as the sudden lessening of pressure made him stumble back.

Ozpin fell to his knees, breathing hard. Someone kneeled at his side, supporting him.

"Are you alright?" Glynda Goodwtch asked him.

He nodded, unable to talk due to his lack of oxygen.

"What happened? Was that…Was that Jaune Arc?" she asked him before glaring at the boy, who was now lying still on the floor.

He took in some deep breaths. "Y…yes…he was."

"But that's impossible. He shouldn't have been able to…His combat prowess…"

Ozpin forced himself back to his feet. "Put him...in…the infirmary."

"Are you sure? He tried to kill you." She told him.

He took another breath. "Yes."

"Very well then."

* * *

**Possibilities**

When Jaune opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a familiar looking ceiling. A ceiling he hadn't seen in years, but a ceiling nonetheless.

"I see you're awake."

Jaune looked at his side, where Ozpin was sitting in one the chairs.

He sighed. "So I lost. Worse yet, I'm still here."

Ozpin shook his head. "On the contrary, you would have won if Goodwitch had not come to my aid."

"Not if you'd gone all out at the beginning. You're starting to get soft." Jaune countered.

Ozpin shrugged. "I don't necessarily consider that bad."

Jaune frowned and looked away. "So what're you planning to do to me now?"

"I simply want to ask you some questions."

Jaune sighed. "I won't answer all of them."

"That technique last night…So you truly are Jaune Arc?" Ozpin asked.

Jaune glared at him. "That has got to rank 12 in my 1-10 scale of imbecilic questions."

"That is a skill that I have only seen people of the Arc bloodline use." Ozpin added.

"Of course it is. Crocea Mors would ever accept anyone else's Aura." Jaune replied fondly. "Wait, where's my sword?" he demanded.

"I have it." Ozpin answered.

"Give it back." Jaune demanded.

"Not until you answer a few questions."

Jaune glared. "I can't believe my own subconscious is holding my sword hostage. Freud would have a field day with this."

"I believe we've been over this. I am NOT a hallucination." Ozpin reminded him with a frown. His scroll beeped at him and he looked at it for one second before refocusing on his conversation.

"So you expect me to believe that I've somehow gone back in time?" Jaune asked with a mocking smile. "It's either that or I'm in Hell."

Ozpin sighed. "I do not yet know for sure. But the results of the DNA test I just got tells me you really are Jaune Arc, and your father tells me that you were never trained for combat, much less that technique you used last night." Ozpin frowned thoughtfully. "I want to ask you a few questions about the near future. If you're right, I'll know that something is going on."

"Do you seriously believe I somehow traveled back in time?" Jaune deadpanned.

"Yes."

"What?" Jaune gaped.

"It certainly beats the alternative, does it no?" Ozpin asked with a small smile. "Now then, shall we get on with the questions?"

Ozpin spent the next hour interrogating the boy on future events.

* * *

**Interlude**

"Jaune! I heard you were in the infirmary! Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked him the moment he entered the cafeteria.

He forced himself to smile. If Ozpin was right, she wasn't a hallucination, which made dealing with her all the more painful for him.

"Yeah, just a minor case of Aura exhaustion." He lied easily.

"How'd you use up all your Aura?" Ren asked curiously.

"Aura manipulation exercises." Jaune answered quietly. Seeing his best friend still alive...

"Wow, you're really working hard!" Ruby complimented him. "Maybe it's time for Team RWBY to step it up a notch too!"

"Hear hear!" Yang agreed heartily.

"I could use the extra training." Weiss added thoughtfully.

Blake just shrugged.

"Oh, oh, how about a joint exercise?" Nora chimed in.

"Could be fun." Yang nodded.

"What do you say?" Ruby asked him.

Goddamn it. Goddamn it all.

"I…ah…Sorry, I'm tied up at the moment. Maybe later?" he replied with what he hoped looked like a sheepish smile and not a tearful expression.

"Aww…" A dejected looking Ruby and Nora both sighed.

He looked at them both. "I'm…I'm sorry. I'm sorry, everyone." He got up. "I…I have to go. See you in a bit."

"Wait!" Pyrrha grabbed his sleeve. He turned around. "Are you…Are you sure you're alright?"

"Why'd you ask?" he asked hesitantly.

"You look…You look really sad…You're not…You're not doing anything dangerous, right?"

He forced himself to smile. "Don't worry about me. I just…I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."

Unbeknownst to him, Blake began to carefully study him after he said that.

He quickly left them behind.

* * *

**Lunch Break**

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Ozpin suddenly broke the silence.

Jaune looked up from his sandwich. "You've never asked me for permission to ask a question unless it's important or personal. So which is it?"

"Both." Ozpin answered.

Jaune shrugged. He was, of course, perfectly willing to share any information that might be relevant. "Shoot."

"This is the third week in a row that you've spent your lunch period here." Ozpin began.

Jaune frowned. It didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going. "So you want to know why, right?" he interrupted him.

Ozpin's eyebrow rose slightly as he nodded.

Jaune shrugged. "In case you need more information." He tried.

"You are already providing me with the information I need. Is there anything else that you believe I should know?" Ozpin asked him.

Jaune frowned again. "Maybe."

"I can always ask you to stop by. There really is no need to avoid your friends." Ozpin replied.

Jaune's frown widened. Perceptive bastard. "Who says I'm avoiding them?"

"Years of experience working with war veterans with PTSD and survivor's guilt." Ozpin immediately answered.

That had been a stupid question. If there was one person in the world that could understand his motives it'd be Ozpin.

Jaune looked away. "You're also projecting. I read your after action reports."

"And you're deflecting. Why are you avoiding your friends?" Ozpin countered.

"You're the great Ozpin. You should know. And don't call them my friends. MY friends died decades ago." Jaune snapped.

"You do realize that what you're doing is not healthy?" Ozpin asked him.

"My health is irrelevant. All that matters is stopping this war. You can worry about my health afterwards." Jaune answered him coldly.

"Have you even thought of what you'll do after this war is stopped?" Ozpin pressed on.

"What?" Jaune glared at the man.

"What do you plan to do in your future?" Ozpin's lips quirked. "Or should I say past?"

"I don't know. The war is my first priority." Jaune shook his head. "I hadn't even thought of afterwards."

Ozpin frowned. "I see. Arc, I may not be your master anymore, but you are not to come here again unless I call you or you have relevant information."

Jaune sighed. "It's not going to work. I don't plan to get too close to anyone in this timeline."

Ozpin shrugged. "Be that as it may, I wager your friends will be more insistent on keeping you around if you can no longer use your usual excuse to avoid them."

Jaune got up. "Oh, do shut up. We both know you're just like me." He told his former mentor as he left the office.

Ozpin frowned.

* * *

**The Chess match**

"Oh, hey , Jaune! Look, Weiss got a chessboard!" Ruby waved towards him. Although he wanted to make up an excuse to avoid them, he found that he couldn't. Not when Ruby was looking at him expectantly like that. And besides, a chessboard?

Interesting.

He walked towards them, feeling nostalgic. Maybe he should borrow this. He'd finally be able to beat that bastard Ozpin.

"Weiss, can I borrow this for a day?" he asked the heiress.

"You? Can you even play?" Weiss asked skeptically. "You're probably just gonna play with them as if they were toy soldiers, like Ruby here."

Ruby chuckled sheepishly.

"I know the basics." He replied with a smile.

"Okay, then how about this: If you beat me, I'll lend it to you whenever you want." Weiss challenged him, thinking he wouldn't even pose a challenge. "And if win, you don't get to ask me out anymore."

Jaune thought about it. On the one hand, he did not want to spend time around them. On the other, he could use the challenge. "Sure."

"Your funeral." She told him. Weiss, as expected, chose white.

That was fine with him. The game began. After a few moves, Jaune had to hide a smile. It had been a good game, but they were nearing the end.

Jaune moved his bishop, taking Weiss's. She frowned and took his knight pawn with her queen.

He forced the surge of glee down and moved his bishop. "Discover check." He announced.

She frowned again examining the board for any possibilities.

"Oh, and incidentally, mate." Jaune added.

Weiss looked at the board incredulously, examining every piece for the better part of a minute.

"How?!" she finally demanded.

He grinned at her, and was reminded of how beautiful she was, and how he'd often tried to ask her out. He froze.

"How could you beat me?!" Weiss once again demanded.

Weiss looked so strong, so..._alive_.

Jaune stood up. "Got lucky, I guess. I need to go."

"Hey, wait, a minute, come back here! I want a rematch!" Weiss demanded, grabbing his jacket, preventing him from leaving.

"Maybe later. I really need to go." He almost pleaded.

"Jaune, are you sure you're okay?" Pyrrha asked him.

He forced himself to nod. "Of course! Why'd you ask?"

"I get the feeling that you've been avoiding us." She answered honestly.

Jaune internally frowned. "I've just been really busy lately. I'll see you all later, I promise."

And he walked away quickly, before anyone could catch up to him.

* * *

**The concerns**

"Have all of you noticed that Jaune's been acting strange lately?" Nora suddenly spoke up.

"So we're finally going to acknowledge that?" Weiss asked.

"He does seem more out of character." Ren agreed.

"And he knows things that I wouldn't expect him to." Blake added.

"What, you mean the poetry?" Yang turned to her partner.

"It's more than that. He quotes various books and is capable of discussing them at length." Blake answered thoughtfully.

"Oh? You've been discussing much with Lady Killer?" Yang questioned her partner.

A slight blush. "It's not like that. We were simply talking about a shared interest. Besides, he always leaves too quickly." Blake quickly denied.

Yang could have made a joke about that, but she didn't, because she's better than that.

"Okay, so he's more well-read than we thought. Is that really that strange?" Pyrrha mused out loud.

"If it were just that it wouldn't. But Blake's right. He knows things that Jaune Arc could not possibly know." Weiss added.

"Are you still angry about that chess match?" Ruby asked her partner with long suffering look on her face.

Weiss huffed and looked away. "No!"

"So maybe he studied up?" Ruby asked more than answered.

"Without any of us noticing?" Ren gave her a skeptical look.

"What if he was just pretending to be incompetent?" Blake wondered.

Everyone paused.

"So what, he's some kind of crouching moron hidden badass?" Nora asked with an excited expression on her face.

"He did defeat Cardin in that match." Ren murmured thoughtfully.

They remembered that fight.

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. "Now that I think about it, in that fight…"

Yang cut in, having caught on to the same thing Pyrrha had. "He only got hit in areas where it wouldn't hurt too much, he managed to keep him occupied far longer than he usually does, and it was obvious that he was holding back."

Pyrrha nodded. But she remembered training Jaune. Unfortunate as it was to say, at the beginning, Jaune had been kind of a lost cause. No one could fake that.

She voiced her thoughts.

Yang nodded. She had seen Jaune fight and her insight told her that no one could fake being that bad.

They didn't like this. They had thought they knew the cheerful goofball that was their friend, but they were beginning to realize that Jaune Arc kept many secrets, and they were determined to find them out.

* * *

**A fine evening**

"Lovely night, no?" Jaune looked to a side and saw Ozpin.

"It is." He agreed as he looked up at the full moon once more.

Ozpin stood beside him for a while. "Today's an important day I take it?"

"What gave it away?" he asked.

"You were acting strange," he paused for a moment. "Well, stranger." He conceded.

Jaune snorted. "Looking at your students through those cameras you had installed is a rather creepy habit."

"I also noticed you bought a single bottle of wine. A rather expensive bottle." Ozpin ignored his jab.

Bastard probably wanted his wine. It was a pretty nice brand.

"I'm not even going to ask how you I bought that." Jaune told him.

Silence descended upon them.

"I don't suppose you have a cigarette?" Jaune suddenly asked him, knowing full well that Ozpin did indeed carry cigarettes with him, even though he had never seen him smoke them.

Ozpin reached into his coat and pulled out two cigars.

Jaune whistled as he took the offered cigar. "Nice."

Ozpin frowned at him as he lit his cigar. "Smoking's bad for you."

"Hypocrite." Jaune replied.

They both chuckled.

"My line of work, smoking's the last thing that's going to kill me." Ozpin told him after the laughter subsided.

"You run a school." Jaune interjected.

"I run a school full of hormonal, overly powerful children." Ozpin corrected drily.

Jaune paused. "Huh." A certain food fight came to mind. "Touché." He conceded.

They both stood there silently, observing the moon.

"The wine I bought. Drinking by my lonesome sounds kind of…lonesome." Jaune began hesitantly after they'd finished killing their lungs.

"I accept your offer." Ozpin interrupted him.

"I hadn't even finished offering…" Jaune huffed. "But I graciously accept your offer of company."

The bastard smiled. Jaune was sure of it.

Ozpin reached into his coat and pulled out two paper cups.

"Seriously?" Jaune asked him flatly. "You weren't planning for this, were you?"

"You're the tactician." Ozpin reminded him.

Jaune snorted as he reached for the bottle he had left by his side.

"Today's the day the war officially ended." Jaune murmured.

Ozpin said nothing.

Jaune opened the bottle and poured some into the paper cups.

"But for some of us, the war never really ended." Jaune sighed as he placed the bottle down. "All of us lost something. No one made it out unscathed."

Jaune stared at his cup. "I can't let that happen again."

"And we won't. We'll stop it this time." Ozpin interjected solemnly.

Jaune glanced at him. The headmaster had a somber expression on his face and Jaune remembered that Ozpin too had once been a tactician leading the forces of Remnant against the many horrors that sought to overwhelm them.

Jaune raised his glass. "To fallen comrades."

"To fallen comrades." Ozpin raised his glass.

Fine wine in paper cups with good company.

There were worse ways to spend a night he supposed.

* * *

**AN:** I read in the RWBY wiki that Jaune apparently has a good grasp on tactics, and thought that would be an interesting angle to explore. Then I read a fic on time time travel and this story came about.

I also wanted to write a story about a character that's actively trying to avoid the people that he wronged. Thought it'd be interesting.

I admit that this particular Jaune's relationship with Ozpin is also something that I wanted to explore. I see them (in this fic) as two broken people who coped differently with their respective traumas and those are some of the most interesting relationships to me.

I envisioned that somewhere along the road, Jaune would start reconnecting with his friends, getting over his survivor's guilt, with Ozpin manipulating background events to make this happen and Jaune, in turn, manipulating him into getting out more.


End file.
